In 2024, the birth rate in the United States fell to a record low - 1.6 children per woman. This is the lowest level in the history of observations, CBS reports. For comparison, earlier this figure was about 2.1 children per woman.
The decline in birth rates in the United States has been taking place for almost two decades in a row, and according to the latest data in Western Europe. Experts associate this fall with economic instability, deposits of motherhood at a later age and lack of social support for parents.
The Presidential Administration Donald Trump has tried to take steps to stimulate fertility. In February 2024, an executive decree was signed that expanded access to the extracorporeal fertilization procedure and reduced its cost. They also considered the idea of "Bonuses for the Birth of Children" as a way to support families.
According to a researcher Leslie Ruth from the University of Colorado, anxiety about fertility falls should not be overestimated. She notes that it is part of a long process when people are increasingly postponing children at a later age. Despite this, the US population continues to grow due to natural growth and immigration.
Historically, the total birth ratio in the United States was much higher: in the early 1960s it was about 3.5 children per woman. After the Baby Buma, he fell sharply to 1.7 in 1976, and then fluctuated around 2.1 to 2007, after which he began to decline again.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2023 the birth rate was 1.621, and in 2024 it gradually decreased to 1.599. The director of the Karolina Population Center at North Carolina Karen Gutzo, emphasized that a decrease is observed among women in most age groups and will probably last in the near future.
The GSZO explains that later marriage, financial anxiety about the ability to provide children, lack of access to health insurance and social resources make children the birth of children a less attractive choice for many couples.
She also noted that the political initiatives proposed by the Trump administration do not take into account the need for larger support, such as paid childcare leave and children's care available.
The new CDC report also showed that in 2023 the number of births increased by 1% compared to the previous year, but this was due to an increase in the number of women of childbearing age due to immigration. In the group of women from 20 to 30 years, the birth rate, on the contrary, decreased, and among women over 30 years of age remained unchanged.
