How does the United States compare with other countries in average age at first birth?
According to the latest data for selected countries, the average age at first birth in 2006 ranged from 25.0 years in the United States to 29.4 years in Switzerland. The average age at first birth has steadily increased among developed nations (1,4-6). All of the countries shown here had increases in average age at first birth since 1970, with a range of 2.9 years in Sweden to 4.6 years in Denmark. While the United States was in the middle of this range with a 3.6-year increase between 1970 (21.4 years) and 2006 (25.0 years), it had the youngest average age at first birth in both time periods for the nations shown (Figure 5).