U.S. Birthrate Hits Another Record Low in 2020

Fewer and fewer Captains America

Covid may have played a part in 2020's record-low birthrate, yet this number has been falling for six years in a row. The U.S. birthrate has been continuously below the 2.1 babies per woman replacement level since 2007. 

From the NPR, "U.S. Birthrate Fell By 4% In 2020, Hitting Another Record Low":

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"This is the sixth consecutive year that the number of births has declined after an increase in 2014, down an average of 2% per year, and the lowest number of births since 1979," the National Center for Health Statistics said.

The U.S. total fertility rate, which estimates how many babies a hypothetical group of 1,000 women would have during their life based on data from a given year, remains far "below replacement" – meaning there wouldn't be enough babies born for a generation to exactly replace itself.

"The rate has generally been below replacement since 1971 and has consistently been below replacement since 2007," according to the agency, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The statistical replacement rate is 2,100 births per 1,000 women. But in 2020, the U.S. total fertility rate fell to 1,637.5 births per 1,000 women. One year earlier, it was just over 1,700 births.

Just over 3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. last year, according to the agency. Demographically, the number of births fell across all ethnicities and origins, according to the report, which relied on U.S. Census Bureau population estimates that were derived in July.

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