According to a National Vital Statistics 2005 Report report, teen childbearing declined for the 12th consecutive year to a historic low. Birth rates for women age 20 to 24 years old also declined.
Teen Birthrate – A Noted Decline
- In 2003, the teenage birthrate fell 3 percent to 41.6 births per 1,000 women age 15 – 19 years, another record low for the nation.
- The rate has plummeted by one-third since the 1991 peak (61.8).
- The rate for females age 10 to 14 declined to 0.6 per 1,000, a one-third decline since 2000.
- Birth rates for teenagers 15 to 17 and 18 to 19 each fell 3 percent.
- The rate for ages 15 to 17 was 22.4 per 1,000, 42 percent lower than in 1991.
- The rate for ages 18 to 19 years was 70.7 per 1,000, 25 percent lower than in 1991.
- Declines in rates have been especially striking for black teenagers: their overall rate dropped 45 percent since 1991, whereas the rate for young black females 15 to 17 years has plunged more than half.
- Rate declines for all teenagers were substantial enough to more than compensate for the increased number of female teenagers, so that the number of births to women under 20 dropped to the fewest since 1946, the first year of the baby boom.
Childbearing by Unmarried Women – A Continued Concern
- Childbearing by unmarried women rose steeply in 2003. The birth rate per 1,000 unmarried women age 15 to 44 years jumped 3 percent to 44.9 births, breaking an eight-year period of little change.
- The number of births to unmarried women climbed 4 percent to 1,415,995, the highest number recorded in the more than six decades for which national data are available.
- The proportion of all births to unmarried women increased to 34.6 percent; this measure has risen steadily since the late 1990s.
- Despite the overall increases, birth rates for unmarried teenagers continued to fall, with declines for younger teenagers outpacing those for older teenagers.
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Source: National Vital Statistics Report, Volume 54, Number 2 "Births: Final Data for 2003," September 8, 2005
