Fertility rate: births per woman in United States
United States: Fertility rate: births per woman was 1.62 live births per woman in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.62 live births per woman
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
149th
of 236 countries
All-time high
3.75 live births per woman
in 1958
All-time low
1.62 live births per woman
in 2020
Years of data
91
1933–2023
Fertility rate: births per woman in United States, 1933–2023
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
United States recorded 1.62 live births per woman for fertility rate: births per woman in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.5% on the previous year and down 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate: births per woman in United States peaked at 3.75 live births per woman in 1958 and was at its lowest, 1.62 live births per woman, in 2020.
That places United States 149th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 91 years of available data.
Fertility rate: births per woman in United States, year by year
| Year | live births per woman | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 2.01 live births per woman | — |
| 1934 | 2.07 live births per woman | +3.0% |
| 1935 | 2.04 live births per woman | -1.6% |
| 1936 | 2.01 live births per woman | -1.5% |
| 1937 | 2.04 live births per woman | +1.5% |
| 1938 | 2.09 live births per woman | +2.6% |
| 1939 | 2.05 live births per woman | -2.0% |
| 1940 | 2.11 live births per woman | +3.1% |
| 1941 | 2.23 live births per woman | +5.3% |
| 1942 | 2.46 live births per woman | +10.7% |
| 1943 | 2.57 live births per woman | +4.1% |
| 1944 | 2.44 live births per woman | -4.9% |
| 1945 | 2.38 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1946 | 2.83 live births per woman | +18.9% |
| 1947 | 3.16 live births per woman | +11.7% |
| 1948 | 3.01 live births per woman | -4.8% |
| 1949 | 3.02 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 1950 | 3.09 live births per woman | +2.1% |
| 1951 | 3.2 live births per woman | +3.6% |
| 1952 | 3.29 live births per woman | +2.9% |
| 1953 | 3.36 live births per woman | +2.1% |
| 1954 | 3.48 live births per woman | +3.5% |
| 1955 | 3.52 live births per woman | +1.2% |
| 1956 | 3.62 live births per woman | +3.1% |
| 1957 | 3.7 live births per woman | +2.2% |
| 1958 | 3.75 live births per woman | +1.4% |
| 1959 | 3.75 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 3.73 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1961 | 3.69 live births per woman | -1.1% |
| 1962 | 3.53 live births per woman | -4.3% |
| 1963 | 3.39 live births per woman | -4.0% |
| 1964 | 3.26 live births per woman | -3.9% |
| 1965 | 2.98 live births per woman | -8.4% |
| 1966 | 2.77 live births per woman | -7.2% |
| 1967 | 2.6 live births per woman | -5.9% |
| 1968 | 2.51 live births per woman | -3.7% |
| 1969 | 2.5 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 2.52 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 2.32 live births per woman | -7.8% |
| 1972 | 2.06 live births per woman | -11.3% |
| 1973 | 1.92 live births per woman | -6.6% |
| 1974 | 1.87 live births per woman | -2.6% |
| 1975 | 1.81 live births per woman | -3.0% |
| 1976 | 1.78 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 1.83 live births per woman | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 1.8 live births per woman | -1.2% |
| 1979 | 1.84 live births per woman | +2.2% |
| 1980 | 1.86 live births per woman | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 1.85 live births per woman | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 1.85 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 1.83 live births per woman | -1.5% |
| 1984 | 1.83 live births per woman | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1.85 live births per woman | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 1.85 live births per woman | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 1.89 live births per woman | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 1.94 live births per woman | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 2.01 live births per woman | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 2.07 live births per woman | +2.9% |
| 1991 | 2.06 live births per woman | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 2.04 live births per woman | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 2.01 live births per woman | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 1.99 live births per woman | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 1.97 live births per woman | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 1.96 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 1.96 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 1.98 live births per woman | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 1.99 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 2.03 live births per woman | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 2.01 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 2 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 2.02 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 2.03 live births per woman | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 2.04 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 2.09 live births per woman | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 2.1 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 2.05 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 1.99 live births per woman | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 1.92 live births per woman | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 1.88 live births per woman | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 1.86 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 1.84 live births per woman | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 1.85 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 1.83 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 1.8 live births per woman | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 1.75 live births per woman | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 1.72 live births per woman | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 1.68 live births per woman | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 1.62 live births per woman | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 1.63 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 1.67 live births per woman | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 1.62 live births per woman | -2.5% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 1.62 live births per woman is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.5 live births per woman, 1.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 2.04 live births per woman | 2.01 live births per woman | 2.09 live births per woman | 7 |
| 1940s | 2.62 live births per woman | 2.11 live births per woman | 3.16 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1950s | 3.47 live births per woman | 3.09 live births per woman | 3.75 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.1 live births per woman | 2.5 live births per woman | 3.73 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.98 live births per woman | 1.78 live births per woman | 2.52 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.88 live births per woman | 1.83 live births per woman | 2.01 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 2 live births per woman | 1.96 live births per woman | 2.07 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.04 live births per woman | 1.99 live births per woman | 2.1 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.81 live births per woman | 1.68 live births per woman | 1.92 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.63 live births per woman | 1.62 live births per woman | 1.67 live births per woman | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertility rate: births per woman in United States?
- Fertility rate: births per woman in United States was 1.62 live births per woman in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 3.75 live births per woman in 1958.
- What is the lowest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.62 live births per woman in 2020.
- How does United States rank for fertility rate: births per woman?
- United States ranks 149th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fertility rate: births per woman rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate: births per woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 91 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.