Teenage birth rates in America have dropped nationally, but are still significantly higher than in other industrialized nations, says a new report published by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The report State Disparities in Teenage Birth Rates in the United States also reveals sizeable variations in the rates of adolescent girls giving birth across the country, from 22.9 per 1,000 in Connecticut to 65.7 per 1,000 in Mississippi.

The report specifically looked at the rate for girls aged 15 to 19 years. The authors point out that as teenage birth rates for African-Americans and Hispanics tend to be higher than for Caucasians, states with higher numbers of girls in the former two ethnic groups would be expected to have comparably higher rates. However, these factors only explain part of the variations across states.

If one just looked at Caucasian females, the disparities are still there across states – Connecticut had a rate of 9.7 per 1,000, while Mississippi’s was 54.8 per 1,000. Birthrates among Caucasian females were significantly lower in California, the upper Midwest and the Northeast, compared to the South.

The variations also followed similar patterns within other ethnic groups across states – in Connecticut the rate for African-American girls was 43.6 per 1,000, while in Mississippi it was 89.5. Among Hispanics, Connecticut was 76.9 and Mississippi was 114.4.

Disparities in education, income, risk behaviors, contraceptive usage, and personal attitudes towards pregnancy and giving birth are also important factors which influence teenage birth rates, the authors emphasize.

Compared to other developed nations and East European countries, America’s teenage birth rate is still considerably higher. Compare the figures below (source: United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2006, teenage births per 1,000):

  • USA – 41.9
  • New Zealand – 28.4
  • UK – 26.1 (Figure caused concern in the UK, now the highest in Europe)
  • Portugal – 16.7
  • Ireland – 16.3
  • Australia – 15.3
  • Iceland – 13.8
  • Canada – 13.7
  • Spain – 12.1
  • Austria – 12
  • France – 11.7
  • Greece – 11.2
  • Czech Rep. – 10.9
  • Luxembourg – 10.4
  • Germany – 10
  • Finland – 9.5
  • Norway – 9
  • Italy – 6.7
  • Denmark – 6
  • Sweden – 6
  • Netherlands – 5.2
  • Japan – 5.1
  • Switzerland – 4.6
  • South Korea 2.1

The authors add that teenage birth rates in the USA have been steadily dropping since 1991, with a slight blip from 2005 to 2007.

“State Disparities in Teenage Birth Rates in the United States”
T.J. Mathews, M.S.; Paul D. Sutton, Ph.D.; Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D.; and Stephanie J. Ventura, M.A.

Written by Christian Nordqvist