Source 🔗 In 1990, each woman had an average of 2.08 children. By 2023, that figure had fallen to 1.62. The number of babies born each year has fallen by 14% over the same time frame, resulting in 562,195 fewer births in 2023 compared to 1990.

Fewer teenage pregnancies means those young women are more likely to graduate high school, remain in good health and avoid poverty — positive indicators for their individual lives and for the economy. But the downturn in teenagers having children also contributes to an overall birth shortage. Despite increases in the number of babies born to women in their 30s and 40s, there aren’t enough births among these age groups to make up for the babies teens aren’t having.