The Department of Statistics announced the release of its Births Report for The Bahamas at the weekend.

This is the first time the department has produced in one volume a report on the population patterns for the country over a 40 year period.

In 1970, when the population of The Bahamas was around 170,000, women were expected to have an average of four live born children during their childbearing age, according to the report. Four decades later, with a population of more than 360,000, the number has decreased to two.

The report also indicates that The Bahamas recorded its highest reproductive rates in 1970, when the birth rate peaked at 28.8 live born children per 1,000 population. This rate has steadily declined, reaching 15.5 in 2010.

Women between the ages of 20-29 accounted for the largest proportion of births.

The general fertility rate, which is the number of live born children per 1,000 females aged 15-49, was highest in the country between the period 1970 to 1985.

From the 1990s, the fertility rate fell well below its highest level of 128.66 to 50 live births per 1,000 women in 2005, with moderate increases from 2006 to 2010.