Fertility Rates Inch Up, but Marriage and Family Formation Trends Worry Experts

Fertility Rates Inch Up, but Marriage and Family Formation Trends Worry Experts
Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Rachel Sheffield
Updated:
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Commentary
The U.S. birth rate has been on a downward slide since the Great Recession. In 2024, the total fertility rate went up slightly though, but still by less than 1 percent. The total projected number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime is now 1.63, which is slightly above the 2023 projection but still well below the replacement rate of 2.1.
Rachel Sheffield
Rachel Sheffield
Author
Rachel Sheffield is research fellow in welfare and family policy in the Center for Health and Welfare Policy at The Heritage Foundation.
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