Society at a Glance 2024 - Country Notes: Canada

Spotlight on fertility trends

In 2022, 351 679 babies were born in Canada, corresponding to a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.33 children per woman, which is below the OECD average of 1.51.

Across the OECD on average, the TFR steadily declined from 1960 until 2002. There was a small a fertility rebound in the 2000s until 2008, upon which the TFR dropped to an all-time low of 1.5 in 2022. The trend for Canada is different in that the TFR dropped rapidly from 1960 until 1975 but stabilised thereafter. There was a small fertility rebound in the 2000s until 2008, upon which the TFR started to decline again.

Figure 1. In Canada, the TFR has been close to the OECD average over the past 30 years

Number of children per woman aged 15 to 49, Canada and OECD average, 1960 to 2022

Source: Figure 1.1 in OECD (2024), Society at a Glance 2024, https://stat.link/vxdlnc.

Many factors affect fertility choices, including employment of both men and women, unemployment, financial support for families (e.g. paid parental leave and childcare supports) and housing costs (Figure 1.7, https://stat.link/8zu7m3 and Figure 1.14, https://stat.link/ois3k8). However other factors such as (financial) uncertainty as well as norms and attitudes also play a role. In many OECD countries, the desire to establish oneself in labour and housing markets have contributed to a delay of childbearing. In Canada, the mean age of mothers at childbirth rose from 28.8 years in 2000 to 31.6 years in 2022, slightly above the OECD on average (Figure 1.5, https://stat.link/163n2d).

The fall in TFRs is related to women having fewer children and/or none at all. Childlessness has been on the rise across the OECD, but there is cross-national variation in timing and extent. In Canada, there was a rise in permanent childlessness from 16% for women born in 1955 to around 19% for women born in 1975 (Figure 1.3, https://stat.link/mvkw3b).

How does Canada compare?

Selection of indicators related to the chapter on fertility trends and other social indicators

Source: OECD (2024), Society at a Glance 2024, https://stat.link/vxdlnc.