 |
Teen Birth Rates Rise
According to the Center for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics, the United States' teen birthrate rose in 2006, the first increase in 14 years. The statistics also indicated that unmarried childbirth also rose significantly in 2006.
Between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate of teens ages 15-19 rose 3%, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females to 42 live births per 1,000 females. The 3% rise equals 20,000 more births in 2006 than in 2005. The increase in teenage births follows a decline since 1991, when teen births peaked at 61.8 live births per 1,000 females.
The most significant increase in 2006 teen births was a 5% jump reported for non-Hispanic black teens. There was a 2% rise for Hispanic teens, 3% for non-Hispanic white teens, and 4% for American Indian or Alaska Native teens.
The birth rate of teens ages 18-19 was more than three times higher than the rate for teens ages 15-17. Total number of births for teens ages 18-19 in 2006 was 73 live births per 1,000 females, compared to the 22 live births per 1,000 females ages 15-17.
The birth rate for unmarried women also rose significantly, from 47.5 births 1,000 females in 2005 to 50.6 per 1,000 in 2006. The rise equals a 7% increase in births of unmarried women from 2005 to 2006, but follows an upward trend. There has been a 16% increase since 2002, which had a reported 43.7 births per 1,000 females.
Possible factors accounting for the increase include abstinence-only health education, decreased condom use, and increased sexual activity.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics.
Teen Birth Rates in the U.S.,
1980–2006
(rates per 1,000 females in specified group)
|
Age
|
1980
|
1985
|
1990
|
1991
|
1993
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
|
All races
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
1.1 |
1.2 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
| 15–19 years |
53.0 |
51.0 |
59.9 |
61.8 |
59.6 |
56.8 |
54.4 |
52.3 |
51.1 |
47.7 |
45.8 |
43.0 |
41.6 |
41.2 |
40.5 |
41.9 |
|
White, total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
— |
— |
0.7 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
n. a. |
n. a. |
| 15–19 years |
— |
— |
50.8 |
52.8 |
51.1 |
50.1 |
48.1 |
46.3 |
45.4 |
43.2 |
41.2 |
39.4 |
38.3 |
37.8 |
n. a. |
n. a. |
|
White, non-Hispanic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
0.4 |
— |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
| 15–19 years |
41.2 |
— |
42.5 |
43.4 |
40.7 |
39.3 |
37.6 |
36.0 |
35.2 |
32.6 |
30.3 |
— |
27.4 |
26.8 |
25.9 |
26.6 |
|
Black
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
4.3 |
4.5 |
4.9 |
4.8 |
4.6 |
4.2 |
3.6 |
3.3 |
2.9 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
| 15–19 years |
97.8 |
95.4 |
112.8 |
115.5 |
108.6 |
96.1 |
91.4 |
88.2 |
85.4 |
77.4 |
71.8 |
66.6 |
63.8 |
62.9 |
60.9 |
63.7 |
|
American Indian1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
1.9 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
0.93 |
0.93 |
| 15–19 years |
82.2 |
79.2 |
81.1 |
84.1 |
83.1 |
78.0 |
73.9 |
71.8 |
72.1 |
58.3 |
56.3 |
53.8 |
53.1 |
52.5 |
52.7 |
54.7 |
|
Asian/Pacific Islander
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
| 15–19 years |
26.2 |
23.8 |
26.4 |
27.3 |
27.0 |
26.1 |
24.6 |
23.7 |
23.1 |
20.5 |
19.8 |
18.3 |
17.4 |
17.4 |
17.0 |
16.7 |
|
Hispanic2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10–14 years |
1.7 |
— |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.7 |
2.7 |
2.6 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
| 15–19 years |
82.2 |
— |
100.3 |
104.6 |
106.8 |
106.7 |
101.8 |
97.4 |
93.6 |
87.3 |
86.4 |
83.4 |
82.3 |
82.6 |
81.7 |
83.0 |
NOTE: (—) = Data not available.
1. Includes births to Aleuts and
Eskimos.
2. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of
any race.
3. Or Alaska Native.
Source:
Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health
Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 56, no. 7,
Dec. 5, 2007.
Births to Teenagers and to
Unmarried Women, 1940–2006
| Year |
Teen
childbearing |
Nonmarital
childbearing |
Total number
of births
to women
15–19 years |
Birth rate
per 1,000 women
15–19 years |
Total number
of births
to unmarried
women |
Birth rate
per 1,000
unmarried women
15–44 years |
Percent of
all births to
unmarried
women |
| 1940 |
300,747 |
54.1 |
89,500 |
7.1 |
3.8% |
| 1950 |
419,535 |
81.6 |
141,600 |
14.1 |
4.0 |
| 1960 |
586,966 |
89.1 |
224,300 |
21.6 |
5.3 |
| 1970 |
644,708 |
68.3 |
398,700 |
26.4 |
10.7 |
| 1980 |
552,161 |
53.0 |
665,747 |
29.4 |
18.4 |
| 1990 |
521,826 |
59.9 |
1,165,384 |
43.8 |
28.0 |
| 2000 |
468,990 |
48.5 |
1,347,043 |
44.0 |
33.2 |
| 2002 |
425,493 |
43.0 |
1,365,966 |
43.7 |
34.0 |
| 2003 |
414,580 |
41.6 |
1,415,995 |
44.9 |
34.6 |
| 20041 |
415,408 |
41.2 |
1,470,152 |
n.a. |
35.7 |
| 2005 |
345,413 |
83.3 |
1,527,034 |
n.a. |
36.9 |
| 2006 |
366,529 |
84.2 |
1,641,700 |
n.a. |
38.5 |
1. Preliminary data.
Source: U.S. National Center for Health
Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 56, no. 7, Dec. 5, 2007.
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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