CDC data shows fertility has fallen below even Depression-era levels, raising fresh questions about family stability and long-term decline
According to vital statistics data published in April by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the birth rate in the United States has reached a new record low. In 2025, there were 53.1 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15-44) in the US, 1.3% lower than in 2024 and 23% lower than in 2007. The decline in birth rates reflects the impact of decades of social change that have undermined the institution of the American family.
Today, the total number of births per year is far lower than in earlier periods, when the US population was much smaller. For example, in 1961, 4.3 million children were born when the US population stood at 184 million. In 2025, only 3.6 million children were born across the entire country, even though the population now stands at 342 million.
The current birth rates are even lower than during the Great Depression, when births fell to 75.8 births per 1,000 women in 1936.
The fundamental decline in fertility in American society began in the 1960s, following the sexual revolution. In the 1990s and early 2000s, when the US reached the peak of its geopolitical power, the country experienced some growth in birth rates. But from 2006 onward, a new wave of decline began – one that is now unfolding in parallel with a rapid drop in the share of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) in the US population. Why is this happening?
An answer can be found in RT’s global survey, the Social Well-Being Index (SWI). While the West compares who has more money and greater consumption opportunities, we measure what truly matters for the survival and flourishing of nations: the ability to produce life (birth rates); the preservation of life (infant mortality, longevity, homicide mortality); and the minimization of oppression (the level of inequality between rich and poor, and children’s education). As a result, the great Western powers did not even make the top 20 in the SWI rankings. France ranked 29th, Germany 41st, the US 48th, and the UK 53rd.
