| Age at marriage. | Births per marriage. |
|---|---|
| 12 to 16 years | 4.40 |
| 16 to 20 years | 4.63 |
| 20 to 24 years | 5.21 |
| 24 to 28 years | 5.43 |
From exact statistical data of births in the Scandinavian countries of Europe (Denmark, Sweden and Norway), Goehlert compiled the following table, showing the percentages of fertility at various ages:
| Ages. | Married Women. | Unmarried Women. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark. | Sweden. | Norway. | Denmark. | Sweden. | Norway. | |
| Under 20 years. | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 9.1 | 7.0 | 4.9 |
| From 20 to 25 years. | 13.9 | 12.8 | 11.9 | 43.9 | 35.1 | 37.0 |
| From 25 to 30 years. | 26.5 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 28.1 | 27.9 | 32.4 |
| From 30 to 35 years. | 26.7 | 26.1 | 25.3 | 11.4 | 16.8 | 14.9 |
| From 35 to 40 years. | 21.0 | 21.6 | 21.3 | 5.4 | 9.0 | 7.1 |
| From 40 to 45 years. | 9.9 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 |
| Over 45 years. | 1.1 | 1.8 | 3.1 | |||
From this table it appears that the fertility of married women increases steadily up to the age of 35 years, but after this age it begins to decline. What a marked influence the age at marriage has upon fertility is shown by the comparison of the figures relating to married women with those relating to unmarried women; the fertility of unmarried mothers attains its maximum at the ages of 20 to 25 years. In the countries under consideration the average age of women at the time of marriage is 25 to 27 years.
In order to obtain a still clearer picture of the fertility of women in relation to age, Goehlert has combined the figures relating to the married and the unmarried, and then calculated the percentages, with the following results:
| Ages. | Married and Unmarried Women. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark. | Sweden. | Norway. | |
| Under 20 years. | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| From 20 to 25 years. | 16.6 | 15.1 | 14.1 |
| From 25 to 30 year | 26.6 | 25.0 | 25.3 |
| From 30 to 35 years. | 25.3 | 25.1 | 24.4 |
| From 35 to 40 years. | 19.6 | 20.4 | 20.0 |
| From 40 to 45 years. | 9.2 | 11.2 | 12.2 |
| From 45 to 50 years. | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.9 |
| Over 50 years. | |||
If, finally, we combine into a single table the figures relating to all three of these countries, we obtain the following results:
| Under 20 years | 1.5% |
| From 20 to 25 years | 15.3% |
| From 25 to 30 years | 25.6% |
| From 30 to 35 years | 24.9% |
| From 35 to 40 years | 20.0% |
| From 40 to 45 years | 10.9% |
| Over 45 years | 1.8% |
From these figures it appears that the maximum fertility of married women is attained, in Denmark at the age of 31, in Norway at the age of 31.7, and in Sweden at the age of 32 years. In the case of unmarried women, the maximum fertility is at the ages of 24 to 26 years. In the Austrian Empire, the maximum fertility of women is attained at about the age of 30 years; in England it is attained between the ages of 20 and 25 years.
Divergent results as regards the fertility of married women at different ages were obtained by Goehlert from the examination of 5,290 cases from the reigning families of Europe. In the favourable position as regards means of subsistence occupied by the members of these families, marriage naturally occurs, in most cases, much earlier in life, the mean age at marriage being between 19 and 22 years—the youngest mother (in the Capet dynasty) was only 13 years of age—and for this reason the figures relating to the younger age-classes are larger than in the previous tables. But as a result of this, the reproductive capacity also undergoes an earlier extinction, so that of these women, not one gave birth to a child when she was over 50 years of age. Goehlert gives the following table, compiled from these 5,290 instances: