EMBARGOED UNTIL: 10 A.M. EST, OCTOBER 31, 1996 (THURSDAY) Public Information Office CB96-182 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Amara Bachu 301-457-2449 NEW CENSUS BUREAU REPORT PROVIDES ANALYSIS OF FERTILITY OF AMERICAN WOMEN A report entitled, "Children Ever Born by Parity, Race, Age, Marital Status and Nativity of Women: April 1990" (CPH-L-194), released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau, provides some findings from the 1990 census on the fertility of American women. The findings include: - The average number of children born to women 15 years and over in 1990 was 1.8 children per woman, compared with 1.9 children in 1980. These data show that the first decade of women born in the postwar baby boom years (1946 - 1964) will complete their childbearing years with below-replacement fertility levels. The replacement level is considered to be when women, on average, bear two children. - In 1990, the average number of children born to White women was about 1.8 children compared with 2.1 children for African American women, 2.3 children for American Indian or Aleut women, and 2.7 children for Eskimo women. - Overall, foreign-born women had higher fertility (2.0 children) than native-born women (1.8 children). - In 1990, there were 101 million women aged 15 and over. About 7 in 10 or 70 million of these women were mothers. The fertility data used to produce the report's 22-page table are from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing, Subject Summary Tape File (SSTF-16). The data are presented for 21 race groups and four age categories, crossed by nativity, marital status, and the number of children born. The figures are shown at the national level only.-X-The Census Bureau--preeminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries, and institutions.
