Race and Hispanic Origin of the Baby Bust

Who is behind the ongoing baby bust—the years-long decline in the number of births. In 2015, there were 338,000 fewer babies born (3,978,497) than in the peak year of 2007 (4,316,233)—an 8 percent decline. But births have fallen more for some women than for others, and not everyone is participating in the bust...

• Births to Asian women climbed 11 percent between 2007 and 2015, the only race or Hispanic origin group that has not contributed to the baby bust. Asian births now account for 7.0 percent of the nation's total, up from 5.9 percent in 2007.
• Births to Black women fell 6 percent between 2007 and 2015, a decline of 38,000. Black births climbed as a share of total births, however—from 14.5 to 14.8 percent.
• Births to non-Hispanic White women fell 8 percent between 2007 and 2015, a drop of more than 180,000. The non-Hispanic White share of births, at 53.5 percent, has not changed since 2007.
• Births to Hispanic women fell the most—a 13 percent decline between 2007 and 2015. The Hispanic share of births fell from 25 to 23 percent during those years. Among Hispanic women of Mexican origin, births fell by an even larger 24 percent—down by nearly 176,000.  

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Final Data for 2015