Birthrate in America Fell to Lowest Level Ever in 2020
The birthrate in America dropped big in 2020, putting us below replacement level and at our lowest birthrate ever.
Believe it or not, since the mid 70's America has been hovering at or below replacement level. That was a shock to me as I imagined we were always way above replacement level. For those who don't know, being under replacement level for the year means that America saw more deaths than births in that calendar year.
The numbers are in for 2020 and we took quite the drop from 2019 to 2020. Even though our nation's annual birthrate has been dropping 2% consistently every year since 2014, the drop from 2019 to 2020 is eye-opening and most definitely COVID-19-related.
To be completely blunt, I thought if anything, COVID-19 would boost our birthrates. Sure it seems like a lifetime ago, but in reality, it was early last year when we were all essentially barricaded inside our homes with our loved ones. I don't know, I guess I would have just imaged all of that alone time would have lead to baby boomers 2.0.
That is certainly not the case as our birthrate dropped 4% from 2019 to 2020.
IN hindsight, I guess the drop does make sense. I was lucky enough to become a parent twice to two beautiful girls long before the pandemic, and to say that process was stressful would be a complete understatement. I can't imagine how stressful and downright scary it would be to be expecting a child in the middle of a global pandemic. the numbers show that many adults felt the same way and decided to hold off on baby-making until the pandemic passed.
Naturally, I would expect 2021's numbers to reverse the course and get our nation back above replacement level.
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