Father figures

To acknowledge the important role of fathers, Statistics New Zealand offers the following facts ahead of Father's Day on Sunday 6 September 2009.

• In 2008, a new baby was a Father Day’s present for 143 men.
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• The average age of fathers of new babies is 33 years, but one in 100 babies has a father aged 50 years or over.
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• Today's newborn babies have fathers who are, on average, four years older than their own fathers were when they were born.
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• Fathers with children aged under a year old manage with 42 minutes less sleep than the average of 8.5 hours.
• Over a lifetime, fathers have seven fewer Father’s Days, on average, than mothers have Mother’s Days. This is because men generally start parenting later in life and women have a longer life span.
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• More than a quarter (28 percent) of babies born in New Zealand last year were to fathers who were not themselves born in New Zealand. This compares with 24 percent a decade ago.

Other facts about Father’s Day

• The first Father’s Day is thought to have originated in Babylon over 4,000 years ago.
• The modern Father’s Day celebration has its origins in the USA at the turn of the 20th century.
• New Zealand and Australia celebrate Father’s Day at the same time, whereas internationally it is celebrated by a number of northern hemisphere countries in June.

Data sources: Birth registrations, New Zealand Life Tables, Time Use Survey, 2006.

Dallas Welch (Mrs)
Acting Government Statistician