Wellington  - New Zealand is experiencing a baby boom with a birth rate of 2.2 babies per woman in the 12 months ending September 30, the highest level of fertility for 17 years, according to official figures released Tuesday.

A total of 64,540 babies were born in the 12 months, the biggest number in a September year since 1962, when the population was 2.5 million, Statistics New Zealand reported.

With a population of 4.3 million today, the current birth rate is about half the peak of 4.3 births per woman recorded in 1961.

New Zealand women are now having children about five years later than their mothers in the mid-1960s, with a median age of 30 today.

As the birth rate rises, New Zealanders are also living longer. The median age at death is now 77 for men and 83 for women, up five years and six years respectively from 20 years ago. (dpa)