Shifting timelines: Alicante sees progressive rise in average age for first pregnancies

The age at which women experience their first pregnancy is progressively rising, a trend evident in both national and provincial data.

In Alicante, the average age for a woman’s first pregnancy stands at 31.09 years, based on the latest figures provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for the year 2022.

This trend has been observed over decades, as indicated by historical data collected by the INE since 1975.

Back then, women in Alicante typically had their first child at 24.94 years old. However, there has been a steady increase since then.

By the 1990s, the average age rose by almost ten per cent, reaching 27.21 years in 1992.

Leading up to the real estate and financial crisis of 2008, the average stabilised around 28 years.

Yet, in the 2010s, the age surpassed the 30-year mark for the first time, reaching 31.09 in the most recent INE update.

Despite this upward trend, Alicante’s figures remain below the national average.

Across Spain, women typically give birth to their first child at 31.57 years old.

Provinces like Vizcaya (32.7), A Coruña (32.64), and Pontevedra (32.56) have the highest average age for first pregnancies, while Almería (29.78), Ceuta (30.07), and Melilla (30.25) have the youngest first-time mothers.