The line graph illustrates the women’s birth rate in 6 separate age brackets in the UK from 1973 to 2008, at 5-year intervals.
Overall, there was a downward trend in the number of births across most age groups, except for those aged between 30 and 39 years old. Notably, throughout the period, women in the age range of 25 to 29 had the highest birth rate, white the lowest one was seen in the those aged 40 and above.
Looking first at women who fell into the age groups of 30-35 and 35-39, they recorded increases in their figures.
The birth rate of women who were aged between 30 and 35 years old steadily increased from about 70 in 1973 to around 85 births per 1000 people in 2008, consistently maintaining its third highest position in the chart. Meanwhile, those in the age group of 35-39 experienced a more substantial rise in their figure, which went up from about 40 to roughly 65 births per 1000 people, despite two decades of relative stability at the periods from 1978 to 1988 and from 1998 to 2008.
Turning to the remaining groups, they all witnessed decreases in their birth rates, although to two different patterns. Women in the age range of 25 to 29 recorded a higher birth rate than all other groups listed, which started at 140 births per 1000 people, after which it had dramatically fallen to just under 120 births in 1983. Subsequently, despite a recovery to about 135 births by 1993, this figure then reached a trough at approximately 115 births before ending at around 120 births, just slightly lower than that in 1983. In comparison, the three other age groups all saw a gradual decline in their birth rates, with those in the age range of 20-25 and over 40 retaining their positions over the period. Despite mirroring this falling trend, women under 20 years old was overtaken by those from 35 to 39 years old in around 1990, becoming the group with the second lowest birth rate.