birth rate

A young woman sits in cafe while text messaging on her smartphone.

Less Sex, Fewer Babies: Blame The Internet And Career Priorities

10:10pm August 06, 2019

by Sam Sanders

America's birthrate continues to decline, and young people are having less sex, amid career pressures and a confusing online dating scene. The declining fertility rate raises alarms for the economy.

Queue Listen Now

The Baby-Less Recovery

1:37pm February 12, 2019

by Greg Rosalsky

In the wake of the Great Recession, the U.S. fertility rate has dipped to a record low. Why hasn't it recovered with the broader economy?

Japan's Population Is In Rapid Decline

7:26pm December 21, 2018

by Sasha Ingber

New figures from the government show that the estimated count of babies born in 2018 has dropped to a historic low. "We know we must address the birthrate," a Japanese official says.

In 2017, birthrates fell by 4 percent both for women 20 to 24 years old and for women 25 to 29, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. Births Dip To 30-Year Low; Fertility Rate Sinks Further Below Replacement Level

9:52pm May 17, 2018

by Bill Chappell

The results put the U.S. further away from a viable replacement rate — the standard for a generation being able to replicate its numbers.

South Korea's parliament has shortened the maximum workweek amid the country's low birth and productivity rates. Workers are seen here at a factory in Ansan, South Korea, in 2015.

South Korea Shortens 'Inhumanely Long' Workweek

1:31pm March 01, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

"It is impossible to lead a happy life when long hours and overexertion become routine," President Moon Jae-in said recently. The country has one of the world's lowest birth rates.

Chinese folk wisdom says that monkeys are cuter than goats, but this photo of a Chinese goat would seem to prove that the opposite is true.

China Blames Goats For 2015 Drop In Birth Rate

7:00am January 23, 2016

by Anthony Kuhn

China is scapegoating goats for a drop in the number of babies born last year — and hopes that the coming year of the monkey will be better.

Older Russians relax during a rally in Moscow. Even with steady improvements in life expectancy, Russian men — whose life expectancy was about 56 years in 1995 — today have an average life span of just under 66 years. Men in Europe live on average 10

World News

A Post-Soviet Baby Bust Comes Back To Bite Russia

2:32pm November 11, 2015

by Corey Flintoff

Russia is facing a demographic crisis. Some women are having more babies, but there are fewer mothers overall. The country may face worse economic problems and challenges staffing its armed forces.

Queue Listen Now

France is willing to give money to families that have more babies.

World News

Who Was The First To Try To Manipulate Birthrates? Not China!

6:32am October 31, 2015

by Nurith Aizenman

Credit (or blame) goes to France, which wanted more babies in the 19th century. Like most government plans to influence birthrate, it didn't quite work.