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The Centers for Disease Control came to a startling conclusion that may drastically affect the future population of the United States.
The organization’s 2017 study shows that 48 of the 50 states in the U.S. have a decreased fertility rate, the exceptions being South Dakota and Utah. In other words, Americans are having fewer babies – a lot fewer. In fact, women worldwide are having just about half as many babies as they did in the 1950s.
In the West, the birth rate is 1.7 per 1,000 women, which experts at the CDC believe is 16% less than what is needed for a population to remain stable.
Photo Credit: NCHS
Why the drop in births? Experts believe that one main reason is the economic circumstances of people in the U.S. Because so many people are having difficulty finding steady employment, they are decided to have fewer kids or none at all.
Teen pregnancy has also gone down because of sex education efforts (hey, it works!). There has also been a major societal shift that finds more and more women focused on their careers instead of getting married and starting a family.
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The numbers show that in half of the developed world, countries are either at or below the birth rate that would allow them to maintain and replace populations. Scientists say it will take a whole generation for the effects to be seen, but the numbers don’t lie.
Is this a temporary trend or is this the new normal? Time will tell, but as of now it looks like this phenomenon will be here to stay. Our country, and many others, may look very different in the future…
