Story: Te whānau tamariki – pregnancy and birth

Māori women's fertility

This graph shows the average number of babies born to Māori women from the 1840s to the 2010s. Māori women's fertility rate fell rapidly from the 1960s.

Note: the gaps in the graph above reflect gaps in data. Māori fertility rates are estimated until 1961, when official counts began.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Sources: Ian Pool et al., The New Zealand family from 1840: a demographic history. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2007, Fig. 2.1;Statistics New Zealand

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How to cite this page:

Hope Tupara, 'Te whānau tamariki – pregnancy and birth - Baby care, 20th and 21st centuries', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/graph/27632/maori-womens-fertility (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Hope Tupara, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 Jun 2017