The U.S. birthrate fell by 4 percent in 2020, hitting a record low, according to the Centers for Disease Control. People are having fewer children than the 2.1 needed to maintain a steady population. That's been true for years across all domestic communities.

Are birth rates declining in the world?

Looking at those numbers, it might be easy to assume the human population will just keep expanding, but the reality is very different: global average fertility rates have dropped by half over the last fifty years, from five children per woman in 1968 to just 2.5 in 2017.

Why is the birth rate declining?

Birthrates are falling globally. In many countries, COVID-19 has suppressed population growth by causing a decline in births, migration and life expectancy. Even before the pandemic, urbanization was driving population decline.