QuickStats: Birth Rates Among Teens Aged 15–19 Years, by Race/Hispanic Ethnicity* — National Vital Statistics System, United States,† 2007 and 2015§

Weekly / August 19, 2016 / 65(32);832

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The figure above is a bar chart showing that from 2007 to 2015, the birth rate for female teens aged 15–19 years declined 46%, from 41.5 to 22.3 births per 1,000, the lowest rate ever recorded for this population in the United States. In 2015, rates declined to record lows for all racial/ethnic populations, with declines ranging from 41% for non-Hispanic white teens to 54% for Hispanic teens. Despite the declines, teen birth rates by race/Hispanic ethnicity continued to reflect wide disparities, with rates ranging from 6.9 per 1,000 for Asian or Pacific Islander teens to 34.9 for Hispanic teens in 2015.

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* For American Indian or Alaska Natives and Asian or Pacific Islanders, includes persons of Hispanic and non- Hispanic ethnicity.

† Data are for U.S. residents only.

§ Data for 2015 are preliminary.

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From 2007 to 2015, the birth rate for female teens aged 15–19 years declined 46%, from 41.5 to 22.3 births per 1,000, the lowest rate ever recorded for this population in the United States. In 2015, rates declined to record lows for all racial/ethnic populations, with declines ranging from 41% for non-Hispanic white teens to 54% for Hispanic teens. Despite the declines, teen birth rates by race/Hispanic ethnicity continued to reflect wide disparities, with rates ranging from 6.9 per 1,000 for Asian or Pacific Islander teens to 34.9 for Hispanic teens in 2015.

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Source: Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Osterman MJK. Births: preliminary data for 2015. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 65, No. 3. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2016.http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_03.pdf.

Reported by: Brady E. Hamilton, PhD, bhamilton@cdc.gov 301-458-4653; T.J. Mathews, MS.

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Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Birth Rates Among Teens Aged 15–19 Years, by Race/Hispanic Ethnicity — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2007 and 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:832. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6532a6 .