What Does
Natality Mean?
Natality refers to the birth rate within a population. It can be expressed as the number of births per 1,000 individuals.
Comparing the natality rate to the mortality rate of the same population reveals whether that population is growing or decreasing, and at what rate.
Natality data in the United States can be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Safeopedia Explains Natality
A population's natality rate is an important indicator of its overall health. Reductions in the natality rate can be further investigated to determine which factors are influencing these trends.
In 2021, the birth rate in the United States was 12.001 births per 1,000 people. Representing a 0.09% increase from the prior year.
Calculating the Crude Natality Rate
The crude natality rate of a population can be estimated by dividing the number of births in a given period by the average size of the population multiplied by the time period. It is expressed per 1000 members of the population.
The formula for this calculation is as follows:
Number of births over a time period / (Average size of the population X the time period in question)
The Replacement Fertility Rate
The replacement fertlity rate is the rate of births required for a population to remain stable from generation to generation. The base replacement fertlity rate is 2.1 births per adult female. This, however, does not take into account the precise mortality rate of a population or its rate of migration – both of which could affect the replacement rate.
Fertility rates that decline below the replacement rate result in an aging population, especially when combined with longer life spans.
The Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Birth Rates
Despite predictions that the coronavirus pandemic would cause an increase in brith rates due to couples spending extended periods of time isolated together, the opposite occurred. Many people chose to delay attempting to conceive due to economic strains and social restrictions.
The New York Times reported that births decreased by about 8% at the end of 2020 in comaprison to the same month of the previous year.