1
Spain
10.4% of births in 2024 were to mothers 40 or older, up from 7.2% a decade earlier. Spain also has a world-leading fertility-treatment sector.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
2
Italy
It has the EU's oldest first-time mothers, at 31.9 in 2024 (up from 28.1 in 1995), and a high share of births to women over 40.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
3
South Korea
First-time mothers average about 33, up more than six years since 1995, the fastest rise among OECD countries. The state widely subsidizes fertility treatment.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
4
Greece
Greece has one of the EU's highest shares of births to mothers 40 and over, about 11%. In 2022 it raised its legal age limit for IVF to 54.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
5
Ireland
Irish mothers averaged 33.2 in 2023, births to women 40+ are rising fast, and the country launched publicly funded IVF in 2023.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
6
Japan
Mothers are among the oldest in the OECD. Public insurance has covered IVF since 2022, and maternity care is among the world's best.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
7
Denmark
Public IVF is free and now covers up to six cycles. About one in eight births follows fertility treatment.
ClaudeGeminiGrokKimiMiMo
8
Belgium
Belgium is rated first in Europe's fertility-policy atlas, with six IVF cycles fully funded by the state.
ClaudeGrokKimiMiMo
9
France
Insurance fully covers four IVF attempts up to age 45 for all women, including single women, and pays for egg freezing.
GeminiGrokKimiMiMo
10
Netherlands
It sits just behind Belgium in Europe's fertility-policy atlas, with six IVF cycles fully funded. First-time mothers average 30.4.
ClaudeGrokMiMo
Each AI's own list
Top 10 by Claude
The same question, answered by Claude alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
1
Italy
It has the highest mean age at first birth in the EU, 31.9 in 2024, against an EU average of 29.9.
2
Spain
Mothers averaged 32.6 at childbirth in 2024. The share of births to mothers aged 40 and over rose from 7.2% in 2014 to 10.4% in 2024, and Spain also has a large IVF sector.
3
Luxembourg
Its mean age at first birth was 31.6 in 2024, second to Italy in the EU.
4
South Korea
Mothers averaged 33.7 at childbirth in 2024, up from 27.9 in 1995. Births to mothers aged 35 and over rose from 4.8% to 35.9% of all births over the same period.
5
Ireland
Eurostat data show it among the oldest first-time mother populations in the EU, at about 31.5 in 2022.
6
Greece
It was at about 31.0 years in 2022, in the top group of EU countries for age at first birth.
7
Netherlands
First-time mothers were 30.4 on average in 2024, and the country is among those with generous IVF support.
8
Japan
Public health insurance has covered IVF and artificial insemination since April 2022, with about 30% co-payment and age and cycle limits. About 70% of large local governments add further help.
9
Denmark
It is cited among the most generous public IVF funders in Europe, and the evidence on its later-motherhood figures is thin in my sources.
10
Belgium
The ESHRE reimbursement overview places it among the most generous IVF funders, with almost full coverage for up to six cycles. Its maternal-age figures were not retrieved.
What Claude noticed
The EU's oldest first-time mothers are in Italy at 31.9, while the youngest are in Bulgaria at 26.9. That is a five-year gap within one union.
In South Korea, births to mothers 35 and over rose from 4.8% of all births in 1995 to 35.9% in 2024, even as the fertility rate is among the world's lowest.
All EU countries now publicly fund some IVF, but only five of the 27 offer full funding for up to six treatments.
In Spain, births to mothers aged 40 and over grew from 7.2% to 10.4% in a decade, even as overall births fell.
Top 10 by Grok
The same question, answered by Grok alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
1
South Korea
Women had a first child at 33.1 on average in 2024, up from 26.5 in 1995, and 35.9 percent of births were to mothers aged 35 or older.
2
Italy
Istat says women had a first child at 31.9 on average in 2024, up from 28.1 in 1995, the oldest first-birth age in the EU.
3
Spain
In 2025, 33,360 babies were born to mothers aged 40 or older, 10.4 percent of births, more than the 30,497 born to mothers under 25.
4
Ireland
In 2023 the average age of mothers was 33.2, and births to mothers aged 40 and over had risen to 4,993, up 24.7 percent in ten years.
5
Japan
The OECD's 2024 comparison places Japan among eight countries where the average age of women at childbirth is above 32.
6
France
Since the 2021 bioethics law, health insurance covers assisted reproduction until a woman's 45th birthday and pays for non-medical egg freezing from 29 to 37.
7
Belgium
The 2024 European fertility-policy atlas rates Belgium first, with full public funding for six IVF cycles, a dedicated law and a national register.
8
Netherlands
The same European atlas places the Netherlands beside Belgium at the top for legal access to treatment and public reimbursement.
9
Greece
Eurostat put the average age of first-time mothers at 31.2 in 2024, up from 27.7 in 2001, and the average age at all births at 32.2.
10
Denmark
Denmark is one of the few EU countries that still reimburses part of IVF after six treatments, though public waits can last six to twelve months.
What Grok noticed
In South Korea, babies conceived with infertility treatment rose from 8.7 percent of newborns in 2019 to 15.1 percent in 2024, about 36,000 births, as the total number of births fell.
Ireland recorded 408 births to mothers aged 45 and over in 2023, up 80.5 percent from 2013, while births to teenagers fell by half over the same decade.
Italy's 2024 birth records show 10.9 percent of women who gave birth were over 40, a share health authorities place among the highest in Europe.
Japan's public insurance began covering IVF in April 2022 at a 30 percent copay, but only if treatment starts before 43, and for at most six attempts.
Top 10 by Kimi
The same question, answered by Kimi alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
1
Spain
Around 10–11% of Spanish babies are born to mothers aged 40 or over — among the highest shares in the world — with the average age at first birth near 31.5 and broad access to fertility treatment in public and private care.
2
Italy
Italy has Europe's highest average age at first birth, 31.8 years in 2023, and about 9% of all births are to mothers over 40, with assisted reproduction accounting for a growing share.
3
Greece
Greece recorded the EU's largest share of births to women aged 40 and over — about 11% of all live births — in the latest Eurostat demography data.
4
South Korea
Korean mothers are the oldest first-time mothers in the OECD at about 33 years on average in 2022, and the age has risen by more than five years in two decades — the fastest postponement in the OECD.
5
Israel
Israel funds nearly unlimited IVF cycles for women up to age 45 (until a second child), making it the world's highest per-capita user of IVF and a global benchmark for fertility-treatment access.
6
Denmark
Denmark offers tax-funded IVF free of charge in its public health system — expanded in 2024 to up to six attempts — alongside some of Europe's highest ages at first birth and strong maternity care.
7
France
Since the 2021 bioethics law, France fully covers up to four IVF cycles for all women — including single women and lesbian couples — and legalized elective egg freezing, while first births average around 31.
8
Belgium
Since 2003 Belgium has reimbursed laboratory costs for six IVF cycles for women under 43, a policy linked to fewer risky multiple pregnancies and widely studied as 'the Belgian model'.
9
Japan
Japan added IVF to national health insurance in April 2022 for women under 43, cutting out-of-pocket costs to about 30%, as its average age at first birth climbed past 30.
10
Ireland
Ireland has one of the EU's highest shares of births to mothers over 40 and among the oldest first-time mothers, and in 2023 launched its first publicly funded IVF scheme through the HSE.
What Kimi noticed
In just over two decades the average OECD woman became a first-time mother three full years later: the mean age at first birth rose from 26.4 in 2000 to 29.5 in 2022.
Births to mothers aged 40 and over in the EU more than doubled in twenty years — from 2.5% of all live births in 2002 to 6.0% in 2022 — rising in every single EU country.
The gap inside the OECD is striking: first-time mothers average about 33 in Korea versus around 27 in the Slovak Republic and Türkiye — a six-year spread between advanced economies.
Israel performs more IVF cycles per capita than any other country — about 40% of them for women over 40 — showing how funding policy, not just demographics, shapes later motherhood.
Top 10 by Gemini
The same question, answered by Gemini alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
1
Spain
Leads the European Union with 10.7% of all live births occurring to women aged 40 and older and an average first-birth age of 31.6 years, underpinned by Europe's premier IVF and egg donation network.
2
Italy
Records Europe's highest average maternal age at first birth (31.8 years), with nearly 10% of all births to mothers 40 and over and comprehensive public health coverage for fertility treatments.
3
South Korea
Registers the highest mean age of first-time mothers in the OECD (32.6 years), supported by expansive state subsidies for fertility treatments, egg freezing, and high-risk pregnancy centers.
4
Greece
Sees over 10.5% of total births born to women aged 40+, complemented by a progressive legal framework that raised the statutory ceiling for IVF treatment to age 54 in 2022.
5
Ireland
Combines an average first-time mother age of 31.5 years and an 11% share of births to women 40+ with universally accessible, high-standard maternity care and publicly funded IVF services.
6
Japan
Features an average first-birth age surpassing 31 years, backed since 2022 by universal public health insurance reimbursement covering advanced IVF, ICSI, and fertility care.
7
Denmark
World leader in assisted reproductive technology access where over 10% of children are born via fertility treatment, offering fully state-subsidized IVF cycles within universal Nordic healthcare.
8
France
Provides 100% public reimbursement for four IVF attempts up to age 43 and universal social security coverage for specialized perinatal care, while mean maternal age exceeds 31 years.
9
Israel
Ranks as the global leader in IVF cycles per capita, fully subsidizing treatments for women up to age 45 (and up to 54 with egg donation) until having two live children.
10
Australia
Maintains a mean maternal age over 31 years alongside open Medicare funding that significantly subsidizes assisted reproductive treatments without a rigid statutory age cutoff.
What Gemini noticed
Across the European Union, the share of births to mothers aged 40 and older has more than doubled over the past two decades, rising from approximately 2.5% to over 6% overall, with Spain and Greece exceeding 10%.
Israel provides virtually unlimited state-funded IVF cycles for citizens seeking up to two live children until age 45, or up to age 54 with donor eggs, resulting in the highest rate of fertility procedures per capita in the world.
South Korea has experienced the steepest upward trajectory in maternal age among OECD nations, with first-time mothers averaging 32.6 years old, prompting nationwide government funding for fertility preservation and egg freezing.
Top 10 by MiMo
The same question, answered by MiMo alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
1
Spain
Europe's clearest later-motherhood profile: 10.4% of all births in 2024 were to mothers aged 40 or over (7.2% in 2014), mean maternity age 32.6, and a world-leading fertility-treatment sector.
2
Italy
Home of Europe's oldest first-time mothers — mean age 31.9 at first birth in 2024 — with a high share of births to women over 40 and universal maternity care.
3
South Korea
The OECD's oldest first-time mothers (about 33 years) and the sharpest 20-year rise, backed by wide public subsidies for fertility treatment and strong perinatal outcomes.
4
Denmark
Among the world's most supportive places to conceive later: public funding now covers up to six IVF/ICSI cycles and second children, and roughly one in eight births follows fertility treatment.
5
Japan
Since 2022 assisted reproduction is covered by national insurance, lifting access sharply; over a third of ART cycles now involve women aged 40-plus and maternity care ranks with the world's best.
6
Belgium
Top-rated country in the 2024 European Atlas of Fertility Treatment Policies (89.5%), with four IUIs and six IVF/ICSI cycles fully funded plus psychological support.
7
Greece
One of the EU's highest shares of births to mothers over 40 (about 10% in recent data) and among the largest 20-year rises in the age of motherhood in the OECD.
8
Ireland
One of the EU's highest first-birth ages and an 8.4% share of births to mothers over 40, since 2023 paired with the country's first fully publicly funded IVF/ICSI programme.
9
Netherlands
Just behind Belgium in the European fertility-policy Atlas (89.4%): full public funding of four IUIs and six IVF/ICSI cycles, state-run fertility education and short waiting lists.
10
France
Assurance maladie covers up to four full IVF attempts and six inseminations at 100%, open to single women and female couples, with treatment available up to age 45.
What MiMo noticed
Spain's share of births to mothers aged 40 or over has grown from 7.2% to 10.4% in a single decade — a national record even as total births fall.
About one in eight Danish babies is now born after fertility treatment, and from December 2024 the state funds treatment for a second child and raises the number of covered IVF cycles from three to six.
Korea's mean age at first birth rose 6.6 years in one generation — from 26.5 in 1995 to 33.1 in 2024 — the fastest postponement recorded among OECD economies.
Japan's 2022 move to place ART under national insurance helped deliver a record 85,000-plus ART newborns in 2023 — roughly one in ten of all Japanese babies.
Worth knowing
What the AIs noticed while building the list.
Across the EU, births to mothers 40 and over more than doubled in twenty years, from 2.5% of births in 2002 to 6.0% in 2022.
In South Korea, the average age at first birth rose from 26.5 in 1995 to 33.1 in 2024, the fastest rise among OECD countries.
In South Korea, babies conceived with fertility treatment rose from 8.7% of newborns in 2019 to 15.1% in 2024, even as total births fell.
After Japan put fertility treatment under national insurance, more than 85,000 babies were born through it in 2023, about one in ten newborns.
Israel funds nearly unlimited IVF up to age 45 and does more IVF per person than any other country, with about 40% of cycles for women over 40.
How we counted
The question
Top 10 Countries Where Later Motherhood Is Most Common and Best Supported
Why this topic
It turns one celebrity announcement into a useful comparison of where having a baby later in life is most common and where those parents get the best care, combining several data sources instead of re-sorting a single statistic.
Where it applies
Global, using national statistics, OECD, Eurostat and UN data
What we looked at
- Average age of mothers at their first birth, from the latest official data
- Share of all births to mothers aged 40 and over
- How much the average age at first birth has risen over the past 20 years
- Access to fertility treatment such as IVF and egg freezing, including public funding or insurance cover
- Quality of prenatal and maternity care for pregnancies later in life
Who ranked
5 AIs, each building its own list of ten independently and naming a source for every place: Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, MiMo.
How the places were set
The same entry written differently by different AIs was counted as one. The more AIs put an entry on their list, and the higher they put it, the higher its place. "AI agreement" shows how many of the AIs had it on their own list. Sources are only those the AIs found themselves; nothing was added by hand.