More Women in Luxembourg choosing Motherhood Later in Life

The average woman in Luxembourg gives birth to her first child at the age of 31, according to a Statec report on the occasion of International Women's Day.

In the run-up to International Women's Day on 8 March, Statec has published data on women living in Luxembourg. The data showed that an increasing number of women in Luxembourg are choosing motherhood later and later in life. The data also showed the life expectancy of women in Luxembourg to be 84 years and that 54% of the women were born in the Grand Duchy. 

Between 2000 and 2017, the total fertility rate fell steadily from 1.78 to 1.39 children per woman. This number remained higher for women of foreign nationality than for Luxembourgers. The year 2017 was an exception to the rule, however, with the rate rising to 1.70 for Luxembourgish mothers compared to 1.16 for non-Luxembourgish mothers.

Concerning gender equality in the workplace, the gender gap has been decreasing in the labour market since 2000. Almost 20 years ago, the female employment rate was 54% compared to 80% for men. By 2017, 67% of women aged 20-64 were employed, compared to 75% of men. However, more than 35% of these women worked part-time, compared to 6% of men. For 57% of women, family was the main reason for this. The perfect unemployment equality rate, according to the definition of the UN's International Labour Office, was 5.6% for women and men in Luxembourg in 2017. The data has also revealed that only 29% of women undertake business trips compared to 42% of men.

Regarding monthly expenditure, women living alone without children spent on average €3,495 per month, compared to €3,675 for men in the same situation. Overall, single women spent more on food and non-alcoholic beverages (€291 per month versus €226 for men), while single men went to restaurants more often (€344 versus €200 for women). 

Moreover, there was no difference in general life satisfaction between women and men in Luxembourg, more women on average felt alone former felt alone than men.
However, this was still a small percentage, since 76% of women said they never or rarely feel alone, compared to 82% of men.