U.S. birth and fertility rates fell to a record low last year, with births dropping for the sixth straight year to the lowest levels since 1979, according to a report Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The number of births declined by 4% last year from 2019, double the average annual rate of decline of 2% since 2014. Total fertility rates and general fertility rates also declined 4% since 2019.
The CDC said the nation’s birth rate was again below replacement level, meaning more people are dying than are being born.
Generally, the number of births declined 3% for Latino women and 4% for Black and white women from 2019 to 2020. Teen birth rates fell considerably with births to 15-to-17-year-olds dropping by 6% and to those aged 18 and 19 falling by 7%, both record lows, CNBC reported.