The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that fertility rates in the United States have dropped to their lowest level since the government began tracking the metric in the 1930s.
The provisional figures, released yesterday and based on an analysis of over 99% of all births in 2023, show that just under 3.6 million children were born last year—a 2% decrease from the previous year—bringing the fertility rate down to a mere 1.62 births per woman, according to the Daily Mail.
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Dr. Jay Richards, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C., took to social media platform X to express his concerns, stating, “This is not yet a burning political issue at the moment. But it is a smoldering fire that threatens the future survival of our culture.”
His sentiment was echoed by Dr. Natalia Bhattacharjee, a population researcher at the University of Washington, who warned last month that “the implications are immense,” adding that “these future trends in fertility rates and live births will completely reconfigure the global economy and the international balance of power and will necessitate reorganizing societies.”
Panic as US birth rates drop to lowest in a century…as top researcher declares fertility crisis a 'fire that threatens our survival' https://t.co/qfn0hgLJQe pic.twitter.com/zPdIFauWpA
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 25, 2024
The data reveals that birth rates have declined most significantly among mothers in their 20s and 30s, with those aged 25 to 29 seeing a drop below one million births per year.
Conversely, a record number of births were recorded among women over 40, with 136,100 births among those aged 40 to 44—a 2% increase from the previous year.
Experts attribute this shift to younger generations prioritizing careers, travel, and social lives over starting families, as well as concerns over the rising cost of living and student debt.
The decline in fertility rates has far-reaching implications for society, as a shrinking workforce could pose significant economic challenges for middle and high-income nations.
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While some countries are attempting to address the issue through migration policies, experts suggest that measures such as longer maternity leave, higher pay, and tax breaks for those with children may only lead to a small increase in birth rates.
