People across the 18 mostly middle-income countries surveyed say, on average, that 26.1 is the best age to have a first child. There is a lot of agreement on this timing, and in most countries, average ideal ages fall between 25 and 27. But there are some that stand out.
People in Tunisia say the ideal age to have a first child is just under 30, on the higher end of the average ages suggested. And adults in Argentina say it is best to have a child at 27.7 years old.
By comparison, people in Bangladesh and South Africa say the ideal age to have a first child is before 25.
Women in the countries surveyed generally do become mothers in their late 20s or early 30s, according to data from the United Nations. This is somewhat older than the average ideal age people suggest in our survey overall.
Women in Bangladesh, Colombia and Mexico typically have their first child at around 26 years old, slightly younger than women in the other countries surveyed. And in Chile and Tunisia, the average age at which women have their first child is 30 or older.
Refer to Appendix A for actual average ages at first birth in each country.
There is generally a lot of agreement within countries, too, about the best age to have a first child.
In 12 of the 18 countries surveyed, at least 40% of adults think sometime between the ages of 25 and 29 is ideal. Indonesians show a particular consensus: 58% say the ideal age is in this range; roughly a quarter say between 20 and 24 is best, and very few think it’s ideal to have a first child outside of one’s 20s.
Some countries have much less agreement. Responses in Tunisia, for example, are more evenly spread across age ranges.
Around a third of Tunisian adults think that the best age to have a child is between 30 and 34. And of the countries surveyed, Tunisia has the largest share of people who think age 35 or older is ideal for this milestone (16%).
Views by gender, age and education
Men generally suggest a slightly older ideal age for having a first child than women. The average ages men say are best range from 24.8 in South Africa to 31.4 in Tunisia, while the average ages women choose range from 22.1 in Bangladesh to 28.5 in Tunisia. The Philippines is the only country where men and women agree on the best age for this milestone (25.2).
Views of the best age for having a first child also vary by the age of respondents themselves. In most countries, adults under 35 think it is ideal to have a child slightly later in life, compared with adults ages 50 and older. In Peru, for instance, younger adults think the best age to become a parent is 27.7, while older adults suggest 25.0 (a gap of 2.7 years).
Opinions also vary by education. In 17 of the 18 countries surveyed, adults with more education say is it best to have a first child slightly later in life, compared with those who have less education. The gap is particularly stark in Latin American countries:
- Chile: The average ideal age suggested by people with more education is 3.5 years older.
- Argentina: 3.2 years older
- Mexico: 3.2 years older
- Colombia: 3.1 years older
- Peru: 3.0 years older
- Brazil: 2.6 years older
