Birth Rate & Fertility

short readsJan 3, 2014

In terms of childlessness, U.S. ranks near the top worldwide

American women have one of the highest rates of childlessness in the world and one of the lowest average number of births.
short readsSep 24, 2013

The odds that you will give birth to a boy or girl depend on where in the world you live

Research over hundreds of years has consistently found that boys naturally outnumber girls at birth. The speculation is that this is nature’s way of countering the relatively high mortality rates of males, and creating more of a gender balance in the population. While historically, there have been about 105 boys born for every 100 girls […]
short readsSep 6, 2013

Chart of the Week: Big drop in birth rate may be leveling off

The release of 2012 statistics on the U.S. birth rates indicates a flattening of the sharp decline in fertility that accompanied the Great Recession.
reportJul 29, 2013

More Evidence of Preference for Sons

This posting is an excerpt from a FactTank article about unmarried fatherhood, and which fathers are more likely to acknowledge paternity when asked. Unmarried fathers of sons are slightly more likely to acknowledge paternity than fathers of daughters.
reportJul 10, 2013

Delayed Motherhood in Canada

This links to a FactTank posting about a new Statistics Canada report showing that birth rates for the first time are higher for women in their late 30s than in their early 20s. Most births in Canada are to women ages 30 and older; by contrast, in the U.S., 40% are.
short readsJul 10, 2013

In Canada, most babies now born to women 30 and older

In the U.S. and many other nations, it’s no longer unusual for women to have a first child at age 35 or even 40. In Canada, this rise in births to older mothers has produced a striking turnabout: For the first time on record, birth rates are higher for women in their late 30s than in their early 20s.
reportJul 8, 2013

Birth Rate Trends Differ Notably by Age Group

This is an excerpt from a FactTank posting about new data from the National Center for Health Statistics about birth rates in 2011. Rates for younger women fell to record lows, but rates continued to rise for women ages 40 and older.
short readsJul 3, 2013

Birth rates hit record low for those under 25, still on the rise for those 40+

The overall U.S. birth rate declined to an all-time low in 2011. Birth rates reached an all-time low among women in their teens and early 20s, while rising to the highest level in four decades among women in their early 40s.
reportMay 28, 2013

What’s Behind the Falling Teen Birth Rates?
short readsMay 28, 2013

What’s behind the falling teen birth rates?

The sharp drop in teen birth rates, especially among Hispanic teens, appears to be linked to both economic and attitudinal factors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that the birth rate among 15- to 19-year-olds had fallen to a record low 31.3 births per 1,000 in 2011. Teen birth rates dropped for […]