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What is an estimate of the number of working mothers ages 25-34 around the world?
Hello! Thanks for your inquiry on the number of working mothers ages 25-34 around the world.
The short version is that worldwide 54.3% of mothers, between 25 and 34 years old, are working, and thus, from the approximately 398 million of mothers in the 25-34 years age bracket, around 216 million are working. The percentage of working mothers varies significantly by country and, in Europe, it goes from 32% (Czech Republic) to 76% (Sweden), while in Japan in 33%. Mothers in this age bracket, at least in developed countries, are avid social media users and put high value on work-life balance and raising children, although motherhood is being delayed.
Below you will find a deep dive of my research and findings along with all the details for how I came to this answer.
METHODOLOGY
To answer your inquiry, first I looked into statistics related to women, workforce, and motherhood by age bracket worldwide. Second, I derived the number of mothers and of working mothers worldwide. Third, I found statistics about the percentage of working women in selected countries, in order to get a perspective of the global differences in this topic. Finally, I summarized some of the main traits, beliefs, and behavior of mothers in this age bracket, in particular in relation to the balance between work and life.
NUMBER OF MOTHERS WORLDWIDE AGED 25-34
There are approximately 2 billion mothers of all ages, worldwide. In the world population of 7.4 billion (2017), there are 3,673 million women, including 569 million women aged 25-34.
In the US, a developed country, 50.4% of women in the 24-29 age group and 71.1% in the 30-34 age bracket have children. Thus, around 60% of US women in the 25-34 age bracket are mothers. There is a wide variation in that share worldwide. This can be derived from the percentages of women who at age 35 are childless, by country (table A.7). Let us assume an approximate global average of 70% of women aged 25-34 who have children. Therefore, worldwide, from the 569 million women in the age bracket 25-34, around 398 million are mothers.
NUMBER OF WORKING MOTHERS WORLDWIDE
The worldwide average of working mothers is 54.3%. Let us assume that this average does not change significantly with age. Thus, by applying that percentage to the 398 million mothers in the cohort of interest, we get that 216 million mothers, between 25 and 34 years old, are working worldwide.
PERCENTAGE OF WORKING MOTHERS BY COUNTRY
However, the percentage of working mothers has great variations by country. A source provides the averages of working mothers in selected countries, which can be compared to the aforementioned global average of 54.3%. The data is defined as “working proportion of mothers with children under 6 years old 2001.” Therefore, the percentages would be higher if mothers with older children are included. However, this is the available data. The percentages by country are the following: (a3)
Denmark: 74 %
Norway: 73 %
Portugal: 70 %
Netherlands: 66 %
Portugal: 70%
Austria: 66 %
Belgium: 66 %
United States: 61 %
France: 59%
Germany: 53%
Italy: 47%
Australia: 45%
Spain: 43%
Japan: 34%
Hungary: 33%
Czech Republic: 32%
The regional differences are clear. Northern Europe has the highest percentage of working mothers in the world, followed by Central and Western Europe. Southern Europe has moderately lower percentages of working mothers, while the lowest shares in this continent are in Eastern Europe. Australia has a medium-low share of working moms. Japan has a very low percentage of working mothers. United States has an intermediate percentage of mothers who work.
BEHAVIOR OF MILLENNIAL MOTHERS
Mothers 25 to 34 years old are part of the generation known as millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000. Most of the available information about attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of millennial mothers comes from the US, and is representative of developed countries. It is also representative to a certain extent, of educated, high/medium income mothers of that age in many other countries, because of the process of cultural globalization.
In the US, there are 16 million millennial moms (defined as between 18 and 33 years old). Millennials are delaying parenthood, if compared to previous generations, but still they assign high value to become parents: “Members of this generation rated being a good parent as a top priority in a 2010 Pew Research Center survey. Some 52% said it was one of the most important goals in their lives, well ahead of having a successful marriage, which 30% said was one of their most important lifetime goals.”
Millennial mothers like social media, and are spending 17.4 hours per week in this activity, four hours more than the average mother in the US. According to a Nielsen survey, 62% of millennials prefer urban centers to suburbs, because of the available amenities. Regarding work, millennials put higher value on aspects such as career development opportunities or work-life balance.
Millennial mothers in the US are spending a lot on their children, around $13,000 per year. After becoming mothers, millennial mothers change behavior: “Fitness, friends, and time for herself—among other things—take a back seat to family, financial security, and her child’s well-being.”
For millennial mothers, work-life balance is a priority. Compared to generation X and baby boomer mothers, who were focused on their career development, they prioritize work flexibility in order to have time for themselves and their kids.
CONCLUSION
Summarizing, worldwide 54.3% of mothers, between 25 and 34 years old, are working, and thus, from the approximately 398 million of mothers in the 25-34 years age bracket, around 216 million are working. The percentage of working mothers varies significantly by country and, in Europe, it goes from 32% (Czech Republic) to 76% (Sweden), while in Japan in 33%. Mothers in this age bracket, at least in developed countries, are avid social media users and put high value on work-life balance and raising children, although motherhood is being delayed.
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