| Sure thing, boss: If we filter by US, * 15-19 is down almost 80% (!!!) since the mid-century peak. * 20-24 is down about 60% since the mid-century peak. * 25-29 is about flat since mid-century * 30-34 is higher than any time in the 20th century * 35-39 is higher than any time in the 20th century * 40-44 is higher than any time in the 20th century In other words, the story is about the same as global. Remember, I was responding to a comment that stated "Reduced teen pregnancies are not the driving factor in recent fertility rate declines at all." If I was going to steel-man your argument, I would note that 20-24 is the cohort with the largest numerical reduction in the US... but then the argument still rests on splitting hairs that 20-24 are not technically teenagers, and teenage pregnancies "only" account for 40% the total reduction in fertility (while teenage mothers only accounted for 16% of births in 1970). Of course, it's hard to square splitting those hairs with the definitive statement "not the driving factor [...] at all" (emphasis mine). In fact, the only way it makes sense is if you define "recent" to mean "since 2017", but measuring things like this over a period of less than a decade is silly anyway. The data is also abundantly clear than older women are having more babies (not just a greater percentage, but actually more babies). In Japan women ages 35-44 had more babies in 2023 than any time since 1950. In Korea, women ages 30-44 had more babies than any time since 1980. |