Share of births that are twins in United States
United States: Share of births that are twins was 1.6% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
1.6%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
6th
of 23 countries
All-time high
1.7%
in 2014
All-time low
0.9%
in 1971
Years of data
105
1915–2021
Share of births that are twins in United States, 1915–2021
Source: Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of births that are twins in United States is 1.6%, measured in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of births that are twins in United States peaked at 1.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1971.
United States ranks 6th of 23 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 105 years of available data.
Share of births that are twins in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 1.0% | — |
| 1916 | 1.0% | +0.5% |
| 1917 | 1.1% | +7.1% |
| 1918 | 1.1% | +5.9% |
| 1919 | 1.2% | +5.7% |
| 1920 | 1.2% | -4.0% |
| 1921 | 1.2% | +2.3% |
| 1922 | 1.2% | -2.2% |
| 1923 | 1.2% | +0.5% |
| 1924 | 1.1% | -1.4% |
| 1925 | 1.1% | -3.1% |
| 1926 | 1.1% | +2.4% |
| 1927 | 1.2% | +2.6% |
| 1928 | 1.2% | -0.5% |
| 1929 | 1.2% | +1.9% |
| 1930 | 1.1% | -3.1% |
| 1931 | 1.2% | +0.5% |
| 1932 | 1.2% | +1.7% |
| 1933 | 1.2% | -0.4% |
| 1934 | 1.2% | -0.5% |
| 1935 | 1.1% | -2.3% |
| 1936 | 1.2% | +2.2% |
| 1937 | 1.1% | -1.5% |
| 1938 | 1.1% | -0.7% |
| 1939 | 1.1% | -1.9% |
| 1940 | 1.1% | -3.8% |
| 1941 | 1.1% | -0.6% |
| 1942 | 1.0% | -1.4% |
| 1943 | 1.0% | -3.2% |
| 1944 | 1.0% | +1.9% |
| 1945 | 1.1% | +2.2% |
| 1946 | 1.1% | +7.1% |
| 1947 | 1.0% | -7.6% |
| 1948 | 1.0% | -0.9% |
| 1949 | 1.0% | -0.1% |
| 1950 | 1.1% | +3.7% |
| 1951 | 1.0% | -4.0% |
| 1952 | 1.1% | +2.3% |
| 1953 | 1.1% | +2.0% |
| 1954 | 1.1% | -1.2% |
| 1955 | 1.1% | +1.3% |
| 1956 | 1.0% | -2.5% |
| 1957 | 1.0% | -1.7% |
| 1958 | 1.0% | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 1.0% | -1.2% |
| 1960 | 1.0% | -1.5% |
| 1961 | 1.0% | -0.9% |
| 1962 | 1.0% | -3.3% |
| 1963 | 1.0% | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 1.0% | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 1.0% | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -1.7% |
| 1967 | 1.0% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 1.0% | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 0.9% | -10.2% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 0.9% | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 0.9% | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 0.9% | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 1.0% | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -1.1% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | +3.3% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 1.1% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 1.2% | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 1.3% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 1.3% | +4.5% |
| 1997 | 1.4% | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 1.4% | +4.7% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 1.5% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 1.6% | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 1.7% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | +0.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 1.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 5 |
| 1920s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 2 |
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 share of births that are twins in United States?
- Share of births that are twins in United States was 1.6% in 2021, according to Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of births that are twins recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of births that are twins recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1971.
- How does United States rank for share of births that are twins?
- United States ranks 6th out of 23 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of births that are twins rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births that are twins. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 105 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.