The country’s fertility rate in 2020 stood at 55.8 births per 1,000 women in the ages 15 to 44.
The falling birthrate combined with the sharp increase in deaths caused by the pandemic, could cause a marked aging of the country’s population if the decline continues to bear out in subsequent years, experts say.The birthrate for women ages 20 to 24 fell 6 percent from 2019.
By contrast, last year the birthrate for women ages 40 to 44 had been risen almost continuously since 1985 by an average of 3 percent as Americans increasingly chose to have children later in life.