Experts have warned of a “smoldering fire threatening our survival” after fertility rates fell to their lowest level in a century and since records began.
The latest CDC data released yesterday showed that just 3.6 million children were born in the United States last year, down two percent from the previous year.
This reduces the fertility rate to 1.62 births per woman in 2023, the lowest since the government began recording the metric in the 1930s, when it was 2.1 births.
The decline is raising alarm due to a shrinking workforce and taxpayer pool, threatening to endanger many communities.
Social Security, which pays pensions, is already expected to run out of money in just ten years, while a key trust fund for Medicare could be empty by 2031.
Dr. Jay Richards warned that this was a “latent crisis.” And Elon Musk, pictured above in an AI-rendered image, has repeatedly warned about the risks of depopulation.
There are also warnings that the change will force a complete reorganization of society, as more of the population is older and unable to work.
One well-known figure who has predicted chaos related to low birth rates is entrepreneur and X CEO Elon Musk, who previously noted that declining fertility rates are a bigger threat to humans than climate change. .
Following the release of the latest figures, Dr Jay Richards, a researcher at the DC-based Heritage Foundation, commented on X: ‘This is still not a hot political issue right now.
“But it is a smoldering fire that threatens the future survival of our culture.”
Dr Natalia Bhattacharjee, a demographic researcher at the University of Washington, added last month: ‘The implications are immense.
“These future trends in fertility and live birth rates will completely reconfigure the global economy and the international balance of power and will require a reorganization of societies.”
A report released last month also warned of the risks, saying middle- and high-income nations faced significant economic challenges as they grappled with a shrinking workforce.
The most recent data was published by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and is based on an analysis of more than 99 percent of all births in 2023. But the figures are provisional and more data is expected in the coming months .
The fertility rate for 2023 is down two percent from nearly 1.7 births per woman from the previous year.
It also marked the 15th consecutive year that the U.S. birth rate has been below the replacement rate (or rate needed to keep the population at the same level), which is 2.1 births per woman.
The record was set in 1957, when each woman had an average of 3.7 children, according to official figures.
Regarding the birth rate, it revealed that it had decreased the most among mothers between 20 and 30 years old.
For those aged 25 to 29, the figure had fallen below one million per year.
There were also a record number of births among people over 40, with 136,100 registered among people aged 40 to 44, an increase of two per cent in one year.
Experts say fewer people are having children because America’s younger generations are prioritizing their careers, travel and social lives over having babies.
There is also an increase in births among women over 40 years of age.
Others have also expressed concern about the rising cost of living and student debt, which they say leaves many feeling financially unable to raise a family.
The increase in births among older adults has been attributed to greater availability of IVF and egg freezing technologies.
Dr. Brady Hamilton, NCHS statistician and lead author of the new report, said cnn: ‘The decrease fits the general pattern [for births].
‘Over time, the highest rates have shifted to women in their 30s, whereas before they tended to be women in their 20s.
‘One of the factors, of course, is the option to wait.
‘We had a pandemic, or there is an economic recession, say: women in their 20s can postpone childbirth until things improve and they feel more comfortable.
“For older women, the option of waiting is not as viable.”
There has also been concern that the Joe v Wade decision could affect births in the United States due to concerns about access to care.
The current strategy in middle- and high-income countries is to plug the cracks caused by population decline through migration policies.
Plans such as longer maternity leaves, higher wages and tax breaks for those who have children are likely to cause only a small increase in the birth rate, experts say.