The fertility rate in the US has fallen to a new record low
The latest CDC figures show that births per woman in the US slumped to under 1.6 — well below replacement level.
New CDC data released Thursday shows that America’s fertility rate dropped to an all-time low of just under 1.6 children per woman on average in 2024.
For context, this is lower than the UN’s projection for the world’s overall rate (2.25), as well as the figure forecast for the US (1.62) in its World Population Prospects report for 2024. Imperatively, it also falls well below the replacement level of 2.1 — or, the birth rate required for a population to replace itself from one generation to the next.
Like much of the developed world, the US has seen its fertility rate slump in recent years as an increasing number of adults have decided to delay or opt out of altogether of having kids, citing economic and social limitations (though it seems that many still can’t decide whether there are currently too many children or not enough).
Natal attraction
As plunging fertility rates worldwide foretell an impending global baby bust, governments are experimenting with incentives to encourage citizens to have more children.
Among these is the US, with raising the national fertility rate being one of the Trump administration’s priorities. Back in April, as part of its pronatalist push, the White House reportedly considered a $5,000 “baby bonus” for new mothers.
Interestingly, last year saw a rare child-rearing win for the country with world’s lowest birth rate. South Korea’s birthrate rose for the first time in nine years to 0.75 in 2024, as reported in February, and just this week the country announced notching record birth growth in the first five months of the year.
Meanwhile, China, previously the global leader for fertility, is struggling with a reduced youth population: a Financial Times article published on Thursday outlined that the number of children in Chinese kindergartens has dropped by 12 million in just four years.
