The overall fertility rate for American Indian/Alaska Native women (calculated as live births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 years) has declined from 83 in 1980 to 58 in 2002. The fertility rates of the general population changed only slightly over the same time period (from 68 in 1980 to 65 in 2002). Persons of Hispanic origin are included in the race categories for fertility rates. While the general fertility rate of American Indian/Alaska Native women is now lower than that for women overall, birth rates for young women (ages 15 to 24 years) are still higher for American Indians/Alaska Natives than for all young women. In 2002, there were 54 live births for every 1,000 American Indian/Alaska Native women 15 to 19 years old, compared to 43 in the general population. For 20- to 24-year-olds, the rate was 113 per 1,000 American Indian/Alaska Native women, and 104 per 1,000 women overall. For both age groups, however, the birth rates for American Indians/Alaska Natives were considerably lower than those for Blacks (67 live births per 1,000 women 15 to 19 years old, and 127 per 1,000 women 20 to 24 years old) and Hispanics (83 live births per 1,000 women 15 to 19 years old, and 164 per 1,000 women 20 to 24 years old) (appendix table A-1.8).
Infant mortality rates (the number of deaths per 1,000 live births) declined for all racial and ethnic groups between 1983 and 2002. Nonetheless, babies born to American Indian/Alaska Native mothers have relatively high infant mortality rates. In 2002, the infant mortality rate for American Indians/Alaska Natives was 9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which was higher than the rates for Whites, Hispanics, and Asian/Pacific Islanders (6, 6, and 5 per 1,000 live births, respectively), but lower than the rate for Blacks (14 per 1,000 live births). The infant mortality rates for Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indians/Alaska Natives include persons of Hispanic origin.
In 2002, the mortality rates for American Indian/Alaska Native children and adolescents, including those of Hispanic origin, between the ages of 1 and 19, were higher than the mortality rates for children in the general population. The differences were most pronounced with young children ages 1 to 4 and with adolescents ages 15 to 19. Mortality rates for American Indian/Alaska Native children ages 1 to 4 were 45 per 100,000 young children, compared to 31 per 100,000 young children in the total population. Similarly, mortality rates among American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents (15 to 19 years old) were 91 per 100,000 adolescents, while those for the general population were 68 per 100,000 adolescents.
 View Table 1.8a |
View Table 1.8b |
