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The birth rate among adolescents aged 15 to 19
years decreased to 41.1 births per 1,000 females in 2004. This is
1 percent below the rate in the previous year, and represents a
33 percent decrease since the most recent peak in 1991. The birth
rate among the youngest adolescents, aged 10 to 14 years, increased
slightly to 0.7 per 1,000. Teenage birth rates were highest among
the oldest adolescents, aged 18 to 19 years, at 70.0 per 1,000.
Teenage birth rates have historically varied considerably
by race and ethnicity. Among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, Asian/Pacific
Islanders had the lowest birth rate in 2004 (17.3 per 1,000), followed
by non-Hispanic Whites (26.7 per 1,000). Although non-Hispanic Black
teens had one of the highest birth rates for this age group (63.1
per 1,000), they have also experienced the largest percentage drop
since 1991 (47 percent). Hispanic females had the highest birth
rate among teens aged 15 to 19 years (82.6 per 1,000) and the lowest
percentage drop since 1991 (21 percent). Among the youngest teens,
aged 10 to 14 years, non-Hispanic Black females had the highest
birth rate (1.6 per 1,000), followed by Hispanic females (1.3 per
1,000); the lowest birth rates were again found among Asian/Pacific
Islanders and non-Hispanic Whites (0.2 per 1,000 for both groups).
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Bar Chart: Birth Rates Among Adolescent Females,
by Age and Maternal Race/Ethnicity: 2004
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Line Chart: Birth Rates Among Females Aged 15-19,
by Maternal Race/Ethnicity: 1990-2004
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