U.S. birth rate stays low as officials encourage fertility

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection released Wednesday found that about 3.6 million babies were born in the United States last year. The fertility rate increased by less than 1% from a record low set in 2023. Birth rates have declined for decades and the country’s fertility rate is about 1.6 births per woman, well below the rate of 2.1 needed to maintain a country’s population.

What else did the report reveal? The birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 dropped slightly from the previous year as did the rate for women in their early 20s. Women in their early thirties had the highest birth rate of any age group with 95.4 births per 1,000 women, while births among women aged 40-44 increased slightly. General fertility rates for black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women declined while rates among Hispanic and Asian women increased a bit. The rates among white, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander women were essentially the same as in 2023.

What have officials said about trying to increase the rates? The Trump administration has been hearing proposals for how to encourage Americans to marry and have more children, according to a Monday report in The New York Times. One suggestion would give $5,000 cash to every American woman after she gives birth, an idea supported by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Top government leaders have been outspoken in pushing for Americans to have more children, including Vice President J.D. Vance who in February spoke at the March for Life in Washington. Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in February told the Department of Transportation to prioritize programs in communities with higher birth and marriage rates.

How are other countries dealing with low birth rates? South Korea’s birth rate rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years after the government last year created a new task force aimed at increasing births. Meanwhile, Tokyo debuted a citywide dating app last summer that was intended to only create matches with the goal of marriage. In Europe, leaders have also moved toward incentives for women to have children. 

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson and Emma Freire’s cover story for WORLD Magazine about the pronatalist movement.