Birthrates, Marriage Rates and Divorce Rates Fell in 2009

Birthrates, Marriage Rates and Divorce Rates Fell in 2009
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Copyright by The New York Times
August 28, 2010, 7:39 AM
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/birthrates-marriage-rates-and-divorce-rates-fell-in-2009/?hp


Three of life’s major milestones became a little scarcer last year.

The United States birthrate fell again in 2009, according to a report released today by the National Center for Health Statistics.

There were 13.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years last year, compared to a rate of 13.9 births per 1,000 women in 2008. In 2007, the rate was 14.3 births.

Here’s a chart showing the total number of births per year over the last century, courtesy of Calculated Risk:

The marriage and divorce rates also fell in 2009. The center estimates that there were 6.8 marriages per 1,000 people in 2009, after a rate of 7.1 and 7.3 marriages per 1,000 people in 2008 and 2007, respectively.

In the states for which data were available, there were 3.4 divorces per 1,000 people in 2009, following rates of 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people in 2008 and 3.6 divorces per 1,000 people in 2007.