As global fertility rates continue to decline, the Trump administration has announced it is considering policies aimed at reversing this trajectory for the United States. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that births increased by 1% in 2024 to 3.6 million, with births rising slightly from the 2023 numbers, but approaching historic lows.
This is a closer look at the data.
According to the CDC, births fell by an average annual rate of 2% between 2015 and 2020. The birth rate fluctuated until 2024. Other data from this study focus on reproductive rate, or number of births per woman of reproductive age (15-44). Globally, the percentage is 2.25 births per woman, one child per woman under 30 years in 1990. In the US, the birth rate is 1.62 per woman.
The current birth rate in the United States is 2.1 – less than the exchange rate of 2.1 for children each woman needs to give birth to a child in order to prevent a decline in the US population.
The US fertility rate has been constantly declining between 2014 and 2020 and has been fluctuating ever since.
In 2024, birth rates in the United States differed depending on the race of their mothers. Here’s how prices changed between 2023 and 2024:
- Black women declined by 4%
- American Indians and Alaska Native women have fallen 3%
- Hispanic women increase by 2%
- Asian women increase by 3%
- Birth rates remained unchanged for white women, native Hawaiian women and other Pacific Island women.
Women are delaying parent-child relationships
Over the past decades, especially since the Great Recession of 2008, economic factors and social expectations have concluded that it is normal for more people to have children in their 30s.
The birth rate for women aged 20-24 decreased between 2023 and 2024, with teenagers aged 15-19.
According to the CDC, the birth rate for women aged 40-44 increased by 2% between 2023 and 2024.
How has preterm birth changed in the US?
Approximately 10.4% of infants were born prematurely in 2024, the same proportion as the previous year.
How do birth rates compare globally?
According to UN world population data, the average global birth rate is 16.52 per 1,000 people. The United States is one of the developed countries with the highest fertility rates. Greenland is the highest at 14.1 births per 1,000 people, while St. Pierre and Michelon are the lowest at 5.2 births per 1,000 people.
Of all 236 countries, the Central African Republic is the highest in the world with 45.35 births per 1,000 people, and the Vatican City is the lowest with 4.21 births per 1,000 people.
The importance of fertility and fertility rate
Brady Hamilton, a birth statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics, previously told USA Today that fertility rates are a key statistic – allowing government agencies and businesses to prepare for the future. It also helps NCH see how people enter society when there are fewer children in a certain age group.
Knowing births and fertility rates provides a more clearer context in place demographics, including age-based generation size, sustainability of welfare programs for retirees due to income tax, and changes in the racial population of a particular town, county, state, or country, Hamilton added.
In the private sector, Hamilton said companies that make baby products such as baby food, formulas and toys need to maintain fertility rates as it helps avoid shortages.
Contribution: Crystal Nurse