Most women in the United States have at least one child by the time they reach their mid-40s. Among women aged 45 to 50, about 85% have given birth to at least one child, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2024. That leaves roughly 15% who complete their reproductive years without having children, a figure that has actually dropped slightly in recent years, from 16.7% in 2014 to 14.9% in 2024.
Globally, the picture varies enormously depending on where a woman lives, how much education she has, and when she starts her family. Here’s what the numbers look like.
How Many Children Women Typically Have
The global fertility rate in 2024 was 2.2 births per woman, down from around 5 in the 1960s and 3.3 in 1990. That global average masks enormous regional differences. Women in sub-Saharan Africa average 4.26 children, while women in East and Southeast Asia average just 1.34. Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand sit at 1.48 births per woman, well below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.
In the United States specifically, the total fertility rate was about 1.7 births per woman as of 2019. But that number includes women who never have children at all. Among American women aged 40 to 44 who do become mothers, the average number of children has hovered around 1.9 since 2000, down from 3.0 in 1980.
Women Are Having Children Later
The average age of a first-time mother in the U.S. has been climbing steadily. In 2016, it was 26.6. By 2023, it had risen to 27.5. That shift of nearly a full year in just seven years reflects broader trends: more women pursuing higher education, building careers before starting families, and having better access to contraception.
Having a first child after 40 remains uncommon but is growing. First birth rates for women aged 40 to 44 increased eightfold between the 1970s and 2016, from 0.3 to 2.4 births per 1,000 women. In 2016, about 27,000 American women aged 40 or older had their first baby. That sounds like a lot, but it represented less than 2% of all first births that year. For women 45 to 49, first birth rates have risen but remain close to zero.
Education Changes the Numbers Significantly
One of the strongest predictors of how many children a woman will have is her level of education. Among American women with a 12th-grade education or less, the expected number of births is about 2.8 per woman. For women with a bachelor’s degree, it drops to roughly 1.3, the lowest of any education group. Interestingly, the pattern isn’t a straight line downward. Women with master’s degrees, doctorates, or professional degrees have slightly higher fertility rates than those with just a bachelor’s, though still well below the rates of women without a college degree.
This pattern holds across racial and ethnic groups but with different ranges. Hispanic women without a high school diploma have the highest fertility rate of any demographic subgroup at about 3.0 births per woman. Black women with a master’s degree have the lowest at about 1.0. By 2022, the gap between education levels had narrowed considerably compared to 1980, when women with a high school diploma or less averaged 3.19 children and those with a bachelor’s degree averaged 2.20.
Fertility Rates Around the World
The world is split into two very different demographic stories. In 72 countries, fertility dropped below replacement level before 1994, and those nations have been living with low birth rates for decades. Another 102 countries are in the process of completing that transition now or will by 2054. But 63 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, are projected to still have fertility rates at or above 2.1 births per woman even in 2054.
Here’s how the major regions compare in 2024:
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 4.26 births per woman
- Oceania (excluding Australia/New Zealand): 3.00
- Northern Africa and Western Asia: 2.71
- Central and Southern Asia: 2.24
- Latin America and the Caribbean: 1.80
- Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand: 1.48
- East and Southeast Asia: 1.34
The global rate is projected to hit replacement level (2.1) by 2050 and fall further to 1.8 by 2100. This decline is reshaping populations everywhere. In wealthier countries, there is already more than one person aged 65 or older for every person aged 15 to 24, and by 2050 that ratio is expected to reach nearly three older adults for every young person.
Teen Motherhood Varies Widely by Region
Adolescent birth rates tell a starkly different story depending on geography. In sub-Saharan Africa, 93 out of every 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 give birth each year. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the rate is 50 per 1,000. In Europe, North America, and Australasia, it’s 9 per 1,000. In low-income countries, nearly 1 in 10 women and girls aged 15 to 19 give birth. These differences are closely tied to rates of child marriage and contraceptive access. Globally, about 20% of women aged 20 to 24 were married before age 18, and contraceptive use among teenage girls ranges from just 3% in lower-income countries to 26% in higher-income ones.
Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.
Among American women aged 40 to 44 in 2022, Hispanic women had the highest average number of children at 2.26, followed by Black women at 1.94, white women at 1.83, and women in other racial categories at 1.68. These gaps have narrowed substantially over the past four decades. In 1980, the range across groups was much wider, and overall averages were a full child higher. The convergence reflects broader access to education, contraception, and economic opportunity across demographic groups, though significant disparities remain.