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NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.Vital Statistics Rapid Release Reports [Internet]. Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics (US); 2024 Oct-. doi: 10.15620/cdc/252434Vital Statistics Rapid Release Reports [Internet].ContentsSearch term
Report No. 43Births: Provisional Data for 2025Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D., Michelle J.K. Osterman, M.H.S., and Elizabeth C.W. Gregory, M.P.H.Published online: April 2026.Objectives:This report presents provisional 2025 data on U.S. births. Data on births, the general fertility rate, the fertility rate for teenagers, cesarean delivery, and preterm births are presented.Methods:Data are based on 99.95% of all 2025 birth records received and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics as of February 3, 2026. Comparisons are made with final 2024 data and earlier years.Results:The provisional number of births for the United States in 2025 was 3,606,400, a 1% decline from 2024. The general fertility rate was 53.1 births per 1,000 females ages 15–44, also a 1% decline from 2024. The fertility rate for teenagers ages 15–19 declined 7% in 2025 to 11.7 births per 1,000 females; the rates for younger (15–17) and older (18–19) teenagers declined by 11% and 7%, respectively. The cesarean delivery rate increased to 32.5% in 2025, up from 32.4% in 2024. The low-risk cesarean delivery rate rose to 26.9% in 2025 from 26.6% in 2024. The preterm birth rate was 10.41% in 2025, unchanged from 2024.Keywords:fertility and birth rates, maternal and infant health, National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)Go to:IntroductionThis report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is part of the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) Rapid Release Quarterly Provisional Estimates data series. This series provides timely vital statistics for public health surveillance based on provisional data received and processed by NCHS as of a specified date. Estimates for the 12-month period ending with each quarter are presented for selected key vital statistics indicators and released online through Quarterly Provisional Estimates, available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/natality-dashboard.htm (1). The series also includes reports that provide additional information on specific topics to help readers understand and interpret provisional natality and mortality data. In addition, provisional birth data are now available and can be accessed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s CDC WONDER database (2).Using provisional birth data for the 12 months of 2025, this report supplements the Quarterly Provisional Estimates for 2025 by presenting longer-term trends that are not shown in the quarterly estimates (1). Statistics from previous provisional reports have tracked closely with final annual statistics (3–5). This report presents provisional data on births, general fertility and birth rates, cesarean delivery, and preterm birth rates for the United States in 2025—covering fewer topics than previous provisional birth reports, but data on the previously included topics remain available in CDC WONDER and the Quarterly Provisional Estimates for 2025 (1,2). Information on these topics, as well as prenatal care, low birthweight, and other measures of healthcare use and maternal and infant risk factors, will be presented with final birth data for 2025.Go to:MethodsThe provisional estimates shown in this report are collected through NVSS (6). Findings are based on all birth records received and processed by NCHS for calendar year 2025 as of February 3, 2026, and these records represent nearly all registered births occurring in 2025 (99.95%). The natality database, from which data for this report and the monthly data released in CDC WONDER are compiled, consist of a continuous flow of records, both new and updated, from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Accordingly, provisional estimates for 2025 presented in this report and those for the same or different periods in CDC WONDER may differ. In addition, differences between the rates published in “Quarterly provisional estimates for selected birth indicators, Quarter 1, 2023–Quarter 4, 2025” and in this report may reflect differences in population estimates used, as well as differences in the number of births (1,7,8). Comparisons in this report are based on final data for 2024 and earlier years (4,5). Detailed information on reporting completeness and criteria is available elsewhere (6,7).U.S. fertility rates for 2025 are based on population estimates derived from the blended base population estimates produced by the U.S. Census Bureau (rather than the April 1, 2020, decennial population count), which are a blend of 2020 census data, 2020 Demographic Analysis estimates, and Vintage 2020 estimates as of July 1, 2025 (vintage 2025) (8).Changes and differences presented in this report are statistically significant at the 0.05 level, unless noted otherwise. For information and discussion on computing rates and percentages, and for detailed information on items presented in this report, see “User Guide to the 2024 Natality Public Use File” (6).Go to:ResultsBirths and fertility ratesThe provisional number of births for the United States in 2025 was 3,606,400, a decrease of 1% from the number in 2024 (3,628,934) (Table 1, ). The number of births declined by an average 2% per year from 2015 through 2020 and has generally fluctuated since then (4,5,9).The provisional general fertility rate for the United States in 2025 was 53.1 births per 1,000 females ages 15–44, a decrease of 1% from the rate in 2024 (53.8). The rate has generally declined since 2007, decreasing by 23% () (4,5,9).The provisional fertility rate for teenagers in 2025 was 11.7 births per 1,000 females ages 15–19, down 7% from 2024 (12.6) and another record low for this age group (Table 1, ) (4,5,9–11). The rate has decreased by 72% since 2007 (41.5), the most recent period of continued decline, and by 81% since 1991 (61.8), the most recent peak. The number of births to females ages 15–19 was 125,933 in 2025, down 8% from 2024 (5).Provisional fertility rates for teenagers ages 15–17 and 18–19 in 2025 were 4.7 and 21.9 births per 1,000 females, respectively (Table 1, ). The fertility rate for younger teenagers (15–17) declined 11% from 2024 (5.3), and the rate for older teenagers (18–19) declined 7% (23.6), both record lows for each group (5,9–11). From 2007 to 2025, rates for teenagers ages 15–17 and 18–19 declined 78% and 69%, respectively (5,9).Table 1Births and birth rate, by age of mother: United States, final 2024 and provisional 2025 Figure 1Number of live births and general fertility rate: United States, final 2000–2024 and provisional 2025. SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, natality data file. Figure 2Birth rate for teenagers, by age of mother: United States, final 1991–2024 and provisional 2025. SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, natality data file. Maternal and infant health characteristicsCesarean deliveryIn 2025, the overall cesarean delivery rate increased to 32.5%, from 32.4% in 2024 (Table 2). The rate generally declined from 2009 (32.9%) to 2019 (31.7%) and has increased almost every year from 2020 to 2025. The 2025 rate is the highest since 2013 (32.7%) () (5).The low-risk cesarean delivery rate—that is, cesarean delivery among nulliparous (first birth), term (37 completed weeks or more based on the obstetric estimate), singleton (one fetus), vertex (head-first) births—increased from 26.6% in 2024 to 26.9% in 2025, the highest rate since 2012 (27.2%) (Table 2, ) (4,5).Table 2Selected medical and health characteristics of births: United States, final 2024 and provisional 2025 Figure 3Percentage of overall and low-risk cesarean delivery: United States, final 2012–2024 and provisional 2025. SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, natality data file. Preterm birthThe preterm birth rate was 10.41% in 2025, unchanged from 2024 (Table 2). The percentage of infants born preterm (births at less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) declined from 10.44% in 2007 (the first year for which national data based on the obstetric estimate are available) to 9.57% in 2014, and then generally increased to 10.49% in 2021. The rate declined from 2021 to 2022 (10.38%) and has remained essentially unchanged from 2022 through 2025 (5,12).The early preterm (less than 34 completed weeks of gestation) birth rate declined 1% from 2024 (2.72%) to 2025 (2.69%) (Table 2). The early preterm birth rate has generally declined since 2021 (2.81%) (5).The late preterm (34–36 weeks of gestation) birth rate was essentially unchanged from 2024 (7.69%) to 2025 (7.72%) (Table 2). The late preterm birth rate has remained steady since 2021 (7.67%) (5).Go to:AcknowledgmentsThis report was prepared in the Division of Vital Statistics under the general direction of Paul D. Sutton, Director; Isabelle Horon, Acting Deputy Director; and Robert N. Anderson, Chief, Statistical Analysis and Surveillance Branch. Rajesh Virkar, Chief of the Information Technology Branch, and Annie S. Liu and Legesse Alemu provided computer programming support and statistical tables. Registration Methods and Data Acquisition, Classification and Evaluation Branch staff evaluated the quality of and acceptance procedures for the state data files on which this report is based. Claudia P. Valenzuela and Danielle M. Ely of the Statistical Analysis and Surveillance Branch provided content review.Go to:References1.Driscoll
AK, Osterman
MJK, Hamilton
BE, Valenzuela
CP.
Quarterly provisional estimates for selected birth indicators, quarter 1, 2023–quarter 4, 2025. In: Vital Statistics Rapid Release Program. National Center for Health Statistics; 2026Apr. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/natality-dashboard.htm.2.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC WONDER. Natality information: Live births. Available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/natality.html.3.Hamilton
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Births in the United States, 2024. NCHS Data Brief. 2025
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Births: Final data for 2024. Natl Vital Stat Rep. [Forthcoming].6.National Center for Health Statistics. User guide to the 2024 natality public use file. Available from: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/DVS/natality/UserGuide2024.pdf.7.National Center for Health Statistics. Quarterly provisional estimates–technical notes–natality, quarter 4, 2024. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/natality-technical-notes.htm.8.U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population by single year of age and sex for the United States: April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025 (NC-EST2025-AGESEX-RES). 2026
Apr. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/national/asrh/nc-est2025-agesex-res.csv.9.Martin
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Births: Final data for 2015. Natl Vital Stat Rep.
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Jan;66(1):1–70. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf.10.National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics of the United States, 2003. Vol 1. Natality. 2003. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/vsus/vsus_1980_2003.htm.11.Ventura
SJ, Hamilton
BE, Matthews
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National and state patterns of teen births in the United States, 1940–2013. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2014
Aug;63(4):1–34. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr63/nvsr63_04.pdf.12.Martin
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Measuring gestational age in vital statistics data: Transitioning to the obstetric estimate. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2015
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1;64(5):1–20. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_05.pdf.
National Center for Health Statistics
Carolyn M. Greene, M.D., Acting DirectorAmy M. Branum, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science
Division of Vital Statistics
Paul D. Sutton, Ph.D., DirectorAndrés A. Berruti, Ph.D., M.A., Associate Director for Science
Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Gregory ECW. Births: Provisional data for 2025. Vital Statistics Rapid Release. 2026 Apr;(43):1–7. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/252434.
All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.All material appearing in these briefs are in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.Bookshelf ID: NBK622025PMID: 42048491DOI: 10.15620/cdc/252434Contents
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