US fertility rate drops to record low as America heads for ‘population crisis’ by 2050
The US fertility rate has fallen to an all-time low, with the number of women having children at an all-time low.
Last year, the number of births was 54.5 per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years), a decrease of three percent compared to 56 in 2022.
The number of babies born in the US has also declined year-over-year, with just under 3.6 million live births in 2023.
At the same time, immigration is increasing rapidly. In 2022, a whopping 2.6 million immigrants came to the US legally. If we include illegal migration, that number rises to 14 million.
These trends are part of a major demographic shift taking place in the US and other Western countries, where there is high migration and low birth rates.
Experts sThe US is heading for a so-called “underpopulation crisis” by 2050, when too few people are born to support the current economic system.
Above you see the number of live births in millions (blue bars) and the fertility rate per 1,000 women (green bars) per year from 2021 to 2023.
The current population of America lives on mass migration, especially from Central American countries.
By means of 2045, some statisticians to predict the US will have a white minority population, due to multiple factors including migration, the baby boom, and the rise of mixed families – Although these predictions have been controversial in recent years.
The most recent CDC data In 2023, the total fertility rate fell to 1.62 births per woman, the lowest figure since the government began measuring this in the 1930s.
However, to maintain the same population size, the population must reach a “replacement” fertility rate of 2.1, a rate the US has not recorded since 2007, before the 2008 financial crisis.
If left unaddressed over time, this could lead to an increasing ageing of the population, with a significant proportion requiring care and unable to work.
Researchers warn that America will face an underpopulation crisis by 2050. Experts agree that the demographic shift toward fewer births and an aging population is a crisis in the making.
In terms of age groups, the largest decline in live births was seen among teenagers, with birth rates among 15- to 19-year-olds falling by four percent from 2022 to 2023.
Additionally, the 18- to 19-year-old group experienced a five percent decline, which was the largest change within that group.
According to the CDC, more women in their 30s are having children, and the birth rate for women ages 20 to 24 reached a historic low of 55.4 births per 1,000 women, a four percent decline.
Above you can see the birth rate for teenagers aged 15 to 19, 15 to 17 and 18 to 19 per year from 2021 to 2023
There are several theories that experts have put forward as the reason for the decline in the birth rate, including the rising cost of living and the increased costs associated with caring for a child.
They also point out that people are prioritizing their careers over their marriages and families, meaning that more and more people are focusing on education and business success rather than saying “I do” and having children.
However, a 2023 Ohio State and University of North Carolina study found that young Americans still plan on having two children on average.
About 88 percent of teens, both boys and girls, say they plan to have children.
Yet the birth rate is not keeping pace. The only way to stabilize the population is to have more women give birth or to have more immigrants come to the country.
According to the Pew Research Center, immigrants now make up 14 percent of the U.S. population.
In 2022, the number of foreign-born people in America was 46.1 million.
And as immigration policies became more permissive and immigration increased, the number of foreign-born residents tripled from 1970 onwards.
Since 1965, when the Immigration and Nationality Act opened immigration to people from Asia and Latin America and allowed more immigrants to enter the U.S. legally, about 72 million immigrants have come to the U.S.
The Migration Policy Institute wrote: “Between 2021 and 2022, growth in the number of immigrants to the United States accounted for 65 percent of total U.S. population growth (912,000 out of nearly 1.4 million).”
Mexico is the largest source of immigrants to the U.S., with 10.6 million Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. in 2022. They are followed by immigrants from India, China, the Philippines and El Salvador.
Due to a combination of falling birth rates, increased immigration and more racially diverse families, 2018 census projections from the Brookings Institute predict that the white population in the U.S. will fall to 49 percent of the minority population by 2045.
