U.S. birth rate still near historical low: CDC

NEW YORK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. births rose 1 percent in 2024 to 3.6 million -- while births increased slightly from 2023 numbers, they are still close to a historic low, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this week.

The number of births declined by an average of 2 percent per year between 2015 and 2020. Birth rates have fluctuated through 2024, the CDC reported. Other data from the study focuses on fertility rate, or the number of live births per woman at reproductive age (15 through 44).

Globally, the rate is 2.25 births per woman, that is one child per woman less than three decades prior in 1990. In the United States, the fertility rate is 1.62 births per woman.

The current fertility rate in the United States is less than the replacement rate of 2.1, the number of children each woman needs to birth in order to prevent a decline in the U.S. population.

"As global birth rates continue to decline, the Trump administration has announced that it is considering policies aimed at reversing this trajectory for the United States," said USA Today in its report about the data.