Total number of births by birth order in United States
United States: Total number of births by birth order was 1.41 million births in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.41 million births
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
1st
of 33 countries
All-time high
1.73 million births
in 2007
All-time low
657,081 births
in 1933
Years of data
91
1933–2023
Total number of births by birth order in United States, 1933–2023
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in births.
Analysis
In 2023, total number of births by birth order in United States stood at 1.41 million births.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total number of births by birth order in United States peaked at 1.73 million births in 2007 and was at its lowest, 657,081 births, in 1933.
United States ranks 1st of 33 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 91 years of available data.
Total number of births by birth order in United States, year by year
| Year | births | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 657,081 births | — |
| 1934 | 714,986 births | +8.8% |
| 1935 | 752,009 births | +5.2% |
| 1936 | 764,732 births | +1.7% |
| 1937 | 810,046 births | +5.9% |
| 1938 | 857,183 births | +5.8% |
| 1939 | 845,527 births | -1.4% |
| 1940 | 873,053 births | +3.3% |
| 1941 | 976,843 births | +11.9% |
| 1942 | 1.16 million births | +18.3% |
| 1943 | 1.08 million births | -6.1% |
| 1944 | 957,182 births | -11.8% |
| 1945 | 924,493 births | -3.4% |
| 1946 | 1.25 million births | +35.2% |
| 1947 | 1.53 million births | +22.4% |
| 1948 | 1.31 million births | -14.5% |
| 1949 | 1.21 million births | -7.8% |
| 1950 | 1.12 million births | -7.3% |
| 1951 | 1.17 million births | +5.1% |
| 1952 | 1.15 million births | -2.1% |
| 1953 | 1.13 million births | -1.6% |
| 1954 | 1.14 million births | +0.9% |
| 1955 | 1.12 million births | -1.8% |
| 1956 | 1.15 million births | +2.4% |
| 1957 | 1.16 million births | +1.3% |
| 1958 | 1.13 million births | -3.3% |
| 1959 | 1.12 million births | -0.6% |
| 1960 | 1.12 million births | -0.2% |
| 1961 | 1.13 million births | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 1.11 million births | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 1.13 million births | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 1.17 million births | +3.2% |
| 1965 | 1.16 million births | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 1.23 million births | +5.8% |
| 1967 | 1.24 million births | +1.0% |
| 1968 | 1.31 million births | +6.0% |
| 1969 | 1.37 million births | +4.1% |
| 1970 | 1.45 million births | +6.2% |
| 1971 | 1.40 million births | -3.8% |
| 1972 | 1.33 million births | -4.7% |
| 1973 | 1.31 million births | -1.7% |
| 1974 | 1.34 million births | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 1.34 million births | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1.34 million births | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 1.40 million births | +4.6% |
| 1978 | 1.42 million births | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 1.49 million births | +5.2% |
| 1980 | 1.56 million births | +4.7% |
| 1981 | 1.56 million births | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 1.57 million births | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 1.54 million births | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 1.54 million births | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 1.56 million births | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 1.56 million births | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 1.57 million births | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 1.60 million births | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 1.66 million births | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 1.70 million births | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 1.67 million births | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 1.64 million births | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 1.63 million births | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 1.63 million births | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 1.62 million births | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 1.60 million births | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 1.58 million births | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 1.59 million births | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 1.60 million births | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 1.63 million births | +2.1% |
| 2001 | 1.60 million births | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 1.60 million births | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.64 million births | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 1.64 million births | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.64 million births | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 1.71 million births | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 1.73 million births | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 1.71 million births | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 1.67 million births | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 1.62 million births | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 1.59 million births | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 1.58 million births | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 1.55 million births | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 1.56 million births | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 1.53 million births | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 1.51 million births | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 1.46 million births | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 1.44 million births | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 1.41 million births | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 1.38 million births | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 1.40 million births | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 1.41 million births | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 1.41 million births | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 771,652 births | 657,081 births | 857,183 births | 7 |
| 1940s | 1.13 million births | 873,053 births | 1.53 million births | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.14 million births | 1.12 million births | 1.17 million births | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.20 million births | 1.11 million births | 1.37 million births | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.38 million births | 1.31 million births | 1.49 million births | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.57 million births | 1.54 million births | 1.66 million births | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.63 million births | 1.58 million births | 1.70 million births | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.66 million births | 1.60 million births | 1.73 million births | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.52 million births | 1.41 million births | 1.62 million births | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.40 million births | 1.38 million births | 1.41 million births | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More population data for United States
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.1369 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -2.8 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.1369 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0241 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 375,392 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.4762 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.1565 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.1% (2100)
- Population density 46.05 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 19.91 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total number of births by birth order in United States?
- Total number of births by birth order in United States was 1.41 million births in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total number of births by birth order recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.73 million births in 2007.
- What is the lowest total number of births by birth order recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 657,081 births in 1933.
- How does United States rank for total number of births by birth order?
- United States ranks 1st out of 33 countries with data for 2023.
- Is total number of births by birth order rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total number of births by birth order. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 91 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total number of first live births recorded in a given year.