ST. PAUL (AP) — The number of births in Minnesota has dropped every year since 1990, women are having children later in life and there are fewer women of fertile age in the state, according to a report.
The number of births dropped from 67,985 in 1990 to 63,259 in 1995, Monday’s Minnesota Planning report said. The drop is due in large part to the aging population and a lower fertility rate for women in their childbearing years of 15 to 44.
“Women in Minnesota are most likely to have children when they are in their 20s and early 30s, and the size of that group is getting smaller,”said State Demographer Tom Gillaspy.
Minnesota mothers also are older than the national average. More than 41 percent of Minnesota mothers were 30 or older. Nationally, 34 percent of all mothers were 30 or older.
The rate at which women have children hasn’t changed, though. At the current rate, Minnesota women will have an average of 1.87 children in their lifetime.