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U.S. Birthrate Falls

By 17³ΤΉΟΤΪΟί News Room


The U.S. fertility rate is at record lows (, subscription).

What’s going on: β€œThe total fertility rate fell to 1.62 births per woman in 2023, a 2% decline from a year earlier, federal data released Thursday showed. It is the lowest rate recorded since the government began tracking it in the 1930s.”

  • The data reflect a continuing trend: American women, across ethnic groups, are delaying or foregoing having children.
  • In 2023, the number of U.S. births was the lowest in 44 years.

Why it’s happening: β€œA confluence of factors are at play. American women are having fewer children, later in life. Women are establishing fulfilling careers and have more access to contraception.”

  • As a group, they are also increasingly uncertain about their futures β€œand spending more of their income on homeownership, student debt and child care.”

The details: From 2022 to 2023, birthrates declined more among younger women.

  • β€œWomen in their mid-to-late 30s are having children at similar rates to those in their early to mid-20s. Birthrates for women 35–39 fell to 54.7 births per 1,000 womenβ€”closer to the rates for women 20–24, which dropped 4% to 55.4 births per 1,000 women in 2023.”
  • Birthrates among women in their 40s stayed the same.

Why it’s important: Fewer U.S. births could reshape the economy and β€œother facets of American life.”

  • However, β€œ[a]n influx of people immigrating to the U.S. could offset the impact of lower birthrates on the U.S. population’s size,” said Brady Hamilton, a co-author of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that includes the data findings. β€œImmigration has risen in recent years, easing labor shortages and expanding the population of big metropolitan areas.”

​βΆΔ‹βΆΔ‹βΆΔ‹βΆΔ‹βΆΔ‹βΆΔ‹Read more: For a comprehensive blueprint on U.S. immigration reform, download β€œ,” the 17³ΤΉΟΤΪΟί’s recommendations to Congress on the subject.
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