U.S. Fertility Rate Drops to All Time Low, Cut in Half Since 1950s

The United States fertility rate is now at an all-time low in the country’s history, dropping by half of what the fertility rate was in the 1950s.

The latest Center for Disease Control (CDC) data reveals that the U.S. general fertility rate — the number of births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44-years-old — has dropped to a record low of 60.3 births, a three percent drop between 2016 and 2017.

The fertility rate dropped for every racial demographic group, with non-Hispanic Asians’ fertility rate dropping the most out of any racial group. The fertility rate among Hispanics dropped by four percent, while there was a three percent drop for non-Hispanic whites.

This record low fertility rate is half of what the fertility rate was in 1958 when there were a little more than 120 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44-years-old.

Following the baby boom of the 1940s and 1950s, birth rates in the country have largely been on a decline, though they have never dipped this low before.

As Breitbart News reported, the U.S. birth rate has similarly been cut in half since the 1950s. Between 1950 to 1955, the U.S. birth rate was about 3.3 children per woman. Between 1955 to 1960, the U.S. birth rate peaked with nearly 3.6 children being born per woman.

In 2016, the U.S. birth rate stood at only 1.7 children per woman, about half of where the U.S. birth rate was in the 1950s and the lowest birth rate in American history. Between 2015 to 2020, the U.S. birth rate is expected to be below replacement level at only 1.89 children per woman.

The U.S. needs a birth rate of at least 2.1 children per woman to replace the current population of the country without experiencing population decreases.