If you’ve spent any time in or around the largest Lego store in the world recently, there’s no way you’d go away thinking that Sydney was struggling through a children shortage. But it turns out, we’re actually in the midst of a baby recession – with 2023 seeing the lowest number of births in Sydney since 2006.
According to analysis from KPMG Australia, Australia hasn’t seen a birth rate drop this significant since widespread adoption of the contraceptive pill back in the 1970s – with KPMG Urban Economist Terry Rawnsley pointing to the cost-of-living crisis as the reason. Across the country, the number of births per year has fallen by 4.6 per cent year on year since 2019 – with house prices and general high living costs cited as the main reason. Out of all major Aussie cities, Sydney has seen the most dramatic drop in births – with the birth rate falling by 8.6 per cent between 2019 and 2023. As the city with the second-most expensive house prices in the world, we can’t say we’re surprised.
“With the current rise in living expenses applying pressure on household finances, many Australians have decided to delay starting or expanding their families,” KPMG Urban Economist Terry Rawnsley explains.
In 2019, Sydney saw 66,570 births, a figure that dropped to just 60,860 in 2023. According to Rawnsley, weak growth in the economy and cost-of-living pressures are having “a particularly strong impact” on birth rates in Australia, and the Harbour City is arguably the place where that pinch is felt most acutely. Back in April, we asked our readers to share their top tips for saving money in Sydney, and although “not having a child” wasn’t on there, we’re all aware of the financial toll that children can take on household expenses.
According to the analysis, the drop in birth rates across Australia has been more pronounced in capital cities, and although Sydney has seen the sharpest drop in numbers, birth rates in most other major cities have fallen too. In Melbourne, the birth rate has fallen by 7.3 per cent since 2019, in Perth it’s fallen by 6 per cent, and in Brisbane it’s fallen by 4.3 per cent. The only Aussie capital to not experience a birth rate fall in the past four years is Canberra – with an unchanging birth rate of 5,530 in both 2019 and 2023.
You can read the full report over here.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.