In the United States, the crude birth rate in 1800 was 48.3 live births per thousand people, meaning that 4.8 percent of the population had been born in that year. Between 1815 and 1825 the crude birth rate jumped from 46.5 to 54.7 (possibly due to Florida becoming a part of the US, but this is unclear), but from this point until the Second World War the crude birth rate dropped gradually, reaching 19.2 in 1935. Through the 1940s, 50s and 60s the US experienced it's baby boom, and the birth rate reached 24.1 in 1955, before dropping again until 1980. From the 1980s until today the birth rate's decline has slowed, and is expected to reach twelve in 2020, meaning that just over 1 percent of the population will be born in 2020.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In the United States in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have seven children over the course of their lifetime. As factors such as technology, hygiene, medicine and education improved, women were having fewer children than before, reaching just two children per woman in 1940. This changed quite dramatically in the aftermath of the Second World War, rising sharply to over 3.5 children per woman in 1960 (children born between 1946 and 1964 are nowadays known as the 'Baby Boomer' generation, and they make up roughly twenty percent of todays US population). Due to the end of the baby boom and increased access to contraception, fertility reached it's lowest point in the US in 1980, where it was just 1.77. It did however rise to over two children per woman between 1995 and 2010, although it is expected to drop again by 2020, to just 1.78.

This is the code replication archive for the paper, "The COVID-19 Baby Bump in the United States," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The underlying natality microdata are restricted, so this archive contains only the code to replicate our analysis.We use natality microdata covering the universe of U.S. births for 2015-2021 and California births from 2015 through February 2023 to examine childbearing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that 60% of the 2020 decline in U.S. fertility rates was driven by sharp reductions in births to foreign-born mothers although births to this group comprised only 22% of all U.S. births in 2019. This decline started in January 2020. In contrast, the COVID-19 recession resulted in an overall “baby bump” among U.S.-born mothers which marked the first reversal in declining fertility rates since the Great Recession. Births to U.S.-born mothers fell by 31,000 in 2020 relative to a pre-pandemic trend but increased by 71,000 in 2021. The data for California suggest that U.S. births remained elevated through February 2023. The baby bump was most pronounced for first births and women under age 25, suggesting that the pandemic led some women to start families earlier. Above age 25, the baby bump was most pronounced for women ages 30-34 and women with a college education. The 2021-2022 baby bump is especially remarkable given the large declines in fertility rates that would have been projected by standard statistical models.

While the standard image of the nuclear family with two parents and 2.5 children has persisted in the American imagination, the number of births in the U.S. has steadily been decreasing since 1990, with about 3.6 million babies born in 2023. In 1990, this figure was 4.16 million. Birth and replacement rates A country’s birth rate is defined as the number of live births per 1,000 inhabitants, and it is this particularly important number that has been decreasing over the past few decades. The declining birth rate is not solely an American problem, with EU member states showing comparable rates to the U.S. Additionally, each country has what is called a “replacement rate.” The replacement rate is the rate of fertility needed to keep a population stable when compared with the death rate. In the U.S., the fertility rate needed to keep the population stable is around 2.1 children per woman, but this figure was at 1.67 in 2022. Falling birth rates Currently, there is much discussion as to what exactly is causing the birth rate to decrease in the United States. There seem to be several factors in play, including longer life expectancies, financial concerns (such as the economic crisis of 2008), and an increased focus on careers, all of which are causing people to wait longer to start a family. How international governments will handle falling populations remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the declining birth rate is a multifaceted problem without an easy solution.

This paper documents a set of facts about the dramatic decline in birth rates in the United States between 2007 and 2020 and explores possible explanations for it. The overall reduction in the birth rate reflects both very large declines within certain groups of women, including teens and Hispanic women – and smaller declines among demographic groups that comprise a large population share, including college-educated white women. We explore potential economic, policy, and social factors that might be responsible for the overall decline. We conclude from our empirical examination of possible factors that there is not a readily identifiable economic or policy factor or set of factors this is likely responsible for a substantial share of the decline. Instead, the patterns observed suggest that widespread, hard to quantify changes in preferences for having children, aspirations for life, and the nature of parenting are more likely behind the recent decline in US births. We conclude with a brief discussion about the societal consequences for a declining birth rate and what the United States might do about it.

In 2020, the birth rate was 960 births per 1,000 women among the mothers who had attained a Bachelor's degree in the United States. In comparison, the birth rate was 1,297 births per 1,000 women who had a Associate's degree.

United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29: White data was reported at 89.200 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 91.100 % for 2022. United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29: White data is updated yearly, averaging 112.300 % from Dec 1985 (Median) to 2023, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 122.000 % in 2007 and a record low of 88.200 % in 2020. United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29: White data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G008: Birth Rate.

The graph illustrates the number of babies born in the United States from 1995 to 2025. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '95 to '25, while the y-axis shows the annual number of births. Over this 30-year period, birth numbers peaked at 4,316,233 in 2007 and reached a low of 3,596,017 in 2023. The data reveals relatively stable birth rates from 1995 to 2010, with slight fluctuations, followed by a gradual decline starting around 2017. The information is presented in a line graph format, effectively highlighting the long-term downward trend in U.S. birth numbers over the specified timeframe.

🍼 Preterm Birth Prediction Dataset (NVSS 2016–2020)

This dataset is a preprocessed and curated version of the U.S. National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) Natality Birth Data (2016–2020), specifically tailored for use in machine learning tasks related to predicting preterm births.

  📚 Background

This dataset preparation and preprocessing pipeline is from the master's thesis: Predicting Preterm Birth with Machine Learning Methodsby Zélie Dresse (May 2022)Master’s Programme… See the full description on the dataset page: https://huggingface.co/datasets/SushantGautam/nvss-birth-records-usa-2016-2020.

Over the past 30 years, the birth rate in the United States has been steadily declining, and in 2023, there were 10.7 births per 1,000 of the population. In 1990, this figure stood at 16.7 births per 1,000 of the population. Demographics have an impact The average birth rate in the U.S. may be falling, but when broken down along ethnic and economic lines, a different picture is painted: Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women saw the highest birth rate in 2022 among all ethnicities, and Asian women and white women both saw the lowest birth rate. Additionally, the higher the family income, the lower the birth rate; families making between 15,000 and 24,999 U.S. dollars annually had the highest birth rate of any income bracket in the States. Life expectancy at birth In addition to the declining birth rate in the U.S., the total life expectancy at birth has also reached its lowest value recently. Studies have shown that the life expectancy of both men and women in the United States has been declining over the last few years. Declines in life expectancy, like declines in birth rates, may indicate that there are social and economic factors negatively influencing the overall population health and well-being of the country.

United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29 data was reported at 91.000 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 93.500 % for 2022. United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29 data is updated yearly, averaging 111.000 % from Dec 1985 (Median) to 2023, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 120.200 % in 1990 and a record low of 90.900 % in 2020. United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G008: Birth Rate.

United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29: Hispanic data was reported at 111.200 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 113.800 % for 2022. United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29: Hispanic data is updated yearly, averaging 137.500 % from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2023, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 153.000 % in 1990 and a record low of 105.800 % in 2020. United States Birth Rate: 25 to 29: Hispanic data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G008: Birth Rate.

Number and percentage of live births, by month of birth, 1991 to most recent year.

The birth rate among women in the United States aged 20 to 24 years fell from 119.8 births per 1,000 women in 1973 to 63 births in the year 2020. This statistic depicts the rate of births per 1,000 U.S. women aged 20 to 24 years from 1973 to 2020.

This data presents national-level provisional maternal mortality rates based on a current flow of mortality and natality data in the National Vital Statistics System. Provisional rates which are an early estimate of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, are shown as of the date specified and may not include all deaths and births that occurred during a given time period (see Technical Notes).

A maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes. In this data visualization, maternal deaths are those deaths with an underlying cause of death assigned to International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) code numbers A34, O00–O95, and O98–O99.

The provisional data include reported 12 month-ending provisional maternal mortality rates overall, by age, and by race and Hispanic origin. Provisional maternal mortality rates presented in this data visualization are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. For example, the 12-month ending period in June 2020 would include deaths and births occurring from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020. Evaluation of trends over time should compare estimates from year to year (June 2020 and June 2021), rather than month to month, to avoid overlapping time periods. In the visualization and in the accompanying data file, rates based on death counts less than 20 are suppressed in accordance with current NCHS standards of reliability for rates. Death counts between 1-9 in the data file are suppressed in accordance with National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) confidentiality standards.

Provisional data presented on this page will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional records are received. Previously released estimates are revised to include data and record updates received since the previous release. As a result, the reliability of estimates for a 12-month period ending with a specific month will improve with each quarterly release and estimates for previous time periods may change as new data and updates are received.

Graph and download economic data for Fertility Rate, Total for the United States (SPDYNTFRTINUSA) from 1960 to 2023 about fertility, rate, and USA.

United States Number of Births: 20 to 24: Hispanic data was reported at 207,702.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 206,948.000 Person for 2022. United States Number of Births: 20 to 24: Hispanic data is updated yearly, averaging 239,121.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2023, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 305,262.000 Person in 2007 and a record low of 199,151.000 Person in 2020. United States Number of Births: 20 to 24: Hispanic data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G007: Number of Births.

Percent Live Births by Infant Sex and Mother’s Race/Ethnicity for New York City, 2007-2020

The average for 2022 based on 195 countries was 18.38 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in Niger: 45.03 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Hong Kong: 4.4 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Introduction: Though awareness of climate change rose globally with the release of former Vice President Al Gore’s movie and book An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, there has seemingly never been a connection drawn between Gore’s works and subsequent fertility trends in the United States, particularly along political lines. Objectives: The primary objective of this project is to determine whether the release of the movie and book An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 sparked an inflection point within a year or two in the United States for birth rates, and whether those rates differ between red and blue states. The secondary objective is to determine whether there was a drop in birth rates after that inflection point. Methods: This project used natality data – birth rates per state per year from 2003-2020 – from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, joined with state political party data from the 2020 Presidential election from Wisevoter. Data were cleaned using Excel and analyzed using Tableau visualizations. Results: The year 2007 was indeed an inflection point in the United States for birth rates, as both red and blue states recorded their highest birth rates at this point in the 2003-2020 span. The birth rate in red states was higher than that of blue states throughout the span but both rates had a positive correlation, running parallel throughout the span. Conclusions: The United States birth rate declined after 2007 in both red and blue states, but it is unclear whether the release of An Inconvenient Truth influenced this decline.