Key points from the chart
- The chart covers 4,503,002 registered births in Mexico from 2020 to 2023, grouped by the mother’s age (our total of the nine groups).
- Fathers are usually a few years older than mothers. For mothers aged 25 to 29 the median father is 29; for mothers aged 35 to 39 it is 38.
- Mothers aged 20 to 29 account for 53.7% of the births (our calculation).
- For the 23,033 births to mothers aged 10 to 14, the median father’s age is 18 and the mean 19.7.
- The oldest group, mothers aged 50 and over, is the smallest (555 births) and has a lower mean father’s age (42.1) than mothers aged 45 to 49 (44.3).
The paternal age chart in text
Title: Distribution of father’s age in registered births in Mexico by mother’s age (2020-2023). Vertical axis: Mother’s age group (number of births and father’s age statistics). Horizontal axis: Father’s age, from 10 to 100. Each mother’s age group has a smoothed curve showing how the fathers’ ages are spread, coloured from red for the youngest mothers to blue for the oldest, with dots marking individual values in the far tails.
| Mother’s age group | Births (n) | Mean father’s age | Median father’s age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 and over | 555 | 42.1 | 42 |
| 45-49 | 5,941 | 44.3 | 45 |
| 40-44 | 98,836 | 41.6 | 42 |
| 35-39 | 424,185 | 38.0 | 38 |
| 30-34 | 863,227 | 34.1 | 33 |
| 25-29 | 1,185,976 | 30.2 | 29 |
| 20-24 | 1,230,065 | 26.0 | 25 |
| 15-19 | 671,184 | 22.0 | 21 |
| 10-14 | 23,033 | 19.7 | 18 |
Source: SSA (2020-2023). Credit: @lapanquecita.
Reading the curves
Each curve peaks a little to the right of its mother’s age band, which is why the median father is older than the mothers in almost every group. The peak moves steadily right as mothers get older, from about 17 for mothers aged 10 to 14 to about 46 for mothers aged 45 to 49 (approximate readings from the curves).
The curves for younger mothers have long right-hand tails. For mothers aged 15 to 19 the curve peaks around 19, but dots stretch into fathers’ ages of 60 and beyond. In most groups the mean is equal to or slightly above the median, which is what a long tail of older fathers would produce. The curves for older mothers show the opposite, with some dots for much younger fathers on the left.
The 50 and over group is broad and flat, with no single clear peak. With only 555 births it is far smaller than the other groups, so its shape is less reliable.
Where the data comes from
SSA is Mexico’s Secretaría de Salud (Ministry of Health). Its Dirección General de Información en Salud publishes open birth records as yearly files, including separate files for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, with variable catalogues for 2020 to 2023 [1]. The chart’s author, Montse (@lapanquecita), is a data analyst in Puebla who publishes analysis of Mexican open data and the scripts behind it on GitHub [2].
Notes on this infographic
- The chart does not say whether births with no recorded father’s age were left out. Because it shows a father’s age for every group, we assume it only includes records where the father’s age was known; the counts may therefore be lower than total registered births.
- The figures are the chart’s own. We have not downloaded the SSA files to recount them.
- The peak ages above are read by eye from the curves and are approximate. The means, medians and counts are printed on the chart.
- Births to mothers aged 10 to 14 involve children. The chart reports the data without comment, and we describe it the same way.
Questions about fathers' ages in Mexico
How much older are fathers than mothers in Mexico?
Fathers in Mexico are usually a few years older than mothers, according to registered births from 2020 to 2023. For mothers aged 25 to 29 the median father's age is 29, and for mothers aged 35 to 39 it is 38. For mothers aged 20 to 24 the median father is 25, with a mean of 26.0.
How many births in Mexico are to mothers aged 10 to 14?
The chart records 23,033 births to mothers aged 10 to 14 in Mexico from 2020 to 2023. For these births the median father's age is 18 and the mean 19.7. The curve for this group peaks at a father's age of about 17, an approximate reading from the chart rather than a printed figure.
At what age do most women in Mexico have children?
Mothers aged 20 to 29 account for 53.7% of the 4,503,002 registered births in Mexico from 2020 to 2023 counted on the chart (our calculation). The largest single group is mothers aged 20 to 24, with 1,230,065 births, followed by those aged 25 to 29 with 1,185,976. The chart may leave out births with no recorded father's age, so these counts could be lower than all registered births.
Where can I find birth data for Mexico?
Birth data comes from SSA, Mexico's Secretaría de Salud (Ministry of Health). Its Dirección General de Información en Salud publishes open birth records as yearly files, including separate files for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 [1]. The chart was made by Montse (@lapanquecita), a data analyst in Puebla who publishes analysis of Mexican open data and the scripts behind it on GitHub [2].
Sources
- Secretaría de Salud, Dirección General de Información en Salud, Datos abiertos, Nacimientos (birth records, in Spanish).
- lapanquecita (Montse) on GitHub, the creator’s profile.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
