US births fell in 2023 to lowest level in more than 40 years

The last time births were this low was in 1979, when 3.5 million were recorded

US births declined in 2023 to the lowest level in more than 40 years, continuing a decades-long trend toward smaller American families.

Total births for the year fell to 3.6 million, a 2% decline from 2022, according to a report released Tuesday by the US National Center for Health Statistics that confirms preliminary data published last year.

The last time births were this low was in 1979, when 3.5 million were recorded. The general fertility rate of 54.5 births per 1,000 women was the lowest ever recorded since data collection began in 1909, according to Brady Hamilton, one of the authors of the study.

Births have been declining globally as political instability and uncertainty discourage people from having children. Earlier this month, the European Union said 2023 births dropped to 3.6 million — a 5% rate of decline not seen in more than six decades. The number of babies born in China last year, 9.5 million, was the second-lowest since the nation’s establishment in 1949.

Americans have been putting off parenthood because of sky-high health costs for themselves and their children, according to Sarah Hayford, director of the Institute for Population Research at the Ohio State University. General political, economic and even climate uncertainty have also contributed to the delays, she said in an interview.

“When people are worried about the future, they often put off having children,” she said.

US women of childbearing age saw declining or unchanged birth rates in various age groups in 2023, also following recent trends. Large drops seen among women ages 15 to 24 were likely due to prioritizing education over parenthood, Hayford added. The average age for a first-time mother was 27.5 years, a record high for the US, the report said.

Teen birth rates declined by 4% from 2022 and have sunk by 68% since 2007, the researchers said.

The total fertility rate was 1.6 births per woman — a pace that has generally declined since 2008 by 2% each year, meaning the US will have to rely on immigration to sustain current population levels.

The report from the NCHS, a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on birth certificate data.