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Australia Records Highest Birth Rate in 9 Years
澳大利亚在九年中出生率最高
Australia has recorded its highest annual birth rate in nine years, with indications that couples are encouraged by low unemployment and economic stability to have babies.
澳大利亚在九年中创下出生率最高记录，有迹象表明政府鼓励低失业率，经济稳定的夫妻生孩子。
Population figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released over the Easter break showed there were 133,000 births in the six months to September 2004—the highest half-year total since 1990.
来自澳大利亚人口数据统计局在复活节公布的数据显示直到2004年九月，前六个月有133000新生儿诞生——这是自从1990年以来半年内最高的新生儿数。
Over the full year to September there were about 255,100 births, the highest annual total in nine years, giving a fertility rate, or number of births per woman, of 1.773 for 2003-2004.
截至九月前的一整年，有255100新增人口，这也是九年中最多的一年。从2003年到2004，每个女性的生育率，或者说生育次数有1.773次。
Craig James, an economist at CommSec, said Australia's baby boom appeared to be a result of strong consumer confidence and an unemployment rate of just 5.1 percent.
一位联邦证券的经济学家克雷格·詹姆斯说澳大利亚婴儿潮似乎是由强大的消费者心理和仅5.1%的失业率造成的。
"Unemployment is at a 28-year low, wages are up, confidence is high," James told Wednesday's The Australian newspaper.
“失业处于28年中最低，工资上升，信心十足，”詹姆斯周三在澳大利亚报纸上如是说。
"People are feeling like it's safe to start a family again."
“人们对开始一个家庭重新恢复信心。”
Australia's birth rate had been in steady decline since 1990, dropping to a half-yearly low of around 125,000 births during the April-September period of 2002.
自从1990年，澳大利亚的出生率稳步下降，到了2002年4—9月间，半年的新生儿下降到125000。
Australia's conservative government has tried to boost flagging fertility by offering financial inducements—including a 3,000-dollar (2,324 US dollar) payment to parents introduced on July 1.
澳大利亚保守派政府为了提振低迷的出生率，试图通过金融诱因的办法——包括一个3000澳元（2324美元）给在7月1日的准父母们。
Australia's current population is estimated to be 20,168,900. In the 12 months to September 2004, the population grew 1.2 percent, about half the increase due to immigration.
目前澳大利亚的人口估计有20,168,900。2004年九月之前的一年，人口增长了1.2%，大约一半的增加是由于移民。
While Britain remains the greatest source of overseas-born residents, between 1998 and 2003 the countries with the largest increase in migration to Australia were South Africa (up 7.9 percent) and India (up 5.8 percent).
尽管英国仍是土生土长的当地居民的主要来源，但是从1998年到2003年间，涨幅最大的澳洲移民来自南非(大于7.9%)和印度(大于5.8%)。
