US birthrate falls below replacement level; 41% of births to single mothers
April 04, 2011
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The birthrate in the United States has fallen to 2.01 children per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1.
The birthrate plunged from 2.08 to 2.01 between 2008 and 2009; the decline affected all races and age groups except the 40-44 age group. “For the first time in years, the rate of births to unmarried women declined,” observes Mary Mederios Kent of the Population Reference Bureau. “However, births to married women declined even more, which pushed the percentage of all US births to unmarried mothers to 41, an all-time high.”
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Further information:
- Debt and the Birth Dearth (Acton Institute)
- U.S. Fertility in Decline (Population Reference Bureau)
- Demographics of the United States (Wikipedia)
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
Apr. 04, 2011 8:13 PM ET USA
Our young value advanced degrees and "hot jobs" more than marriage and family. You're not a success if you don't earn 6 figure$. My parents had 6 figures; I'm the youngest of them, and I think they were a great success! But now it's things, not kids we measure. He who dies with the most toys wins. But, they'll have no one to care for them in old age. Time to buy stock in nursing homes and assisted living centers. Or is that assisted dying, if there's no money/nobody to pay for your care?
