The provided line graph illustrates the change in the six breakdown by age in the UK birth rate over a span of 35 years, from 1973 to 2008.
Overall, all age groups experienced a slight change, particularly, four in six maintained a steady trajectory, ranking in the same positions throughout the period. While the remaining two groups swapped ranks with each other.
First of all, the three groups – “20-25”, “under 20”, “40 and over” – showed a consistent downward trend throughout the period, especially the “20-25” age group, which rapidly fell to just under 100 by 2008, maintaining the second position, followed by the “25-29” group. Whereas the “40 and over” section dropped slightly, from 20 to just under 20, similarly with the “under 20” declining to 40.
Turning to the rest groups with upward trend, the “30-35” slightly rose to just over 40 by 1988, then after, the figure surged to just over 60 and took the fourth position, surpassing the “under 20”. The other section, “30-35”, marginally increased to exactly 80 by 1988, showing an almost stable share by the end of the period.
The last one is the “25-29” part, which represented wave fluctuation over the given period, decreasing to just over 120 by 1983, recovering to just under 140 by 1993, and then going down again to under 120 by 2008.