21 October 2010

Teen Birth Rates Parsed

The latest statistics on teenage birth rates (which are from 2008), break down the data by state and ethnicity.

The overall rate, while no longer at an all time low, is still close to that point. It increased from an all time low in 2005 to 2007, but fell again from 2007 to 2008. But, there is significant variation from state to state, and by ethnicity. Birth rate gaps between ethnicities are particular great in the Midwest. By international standards, the U.S. teen birth rate is still very high. For example, it is about double the teen birth rate in Pakistan.

The likelihood of a Hispanic teenage girl giving birth in the Deep South during the time period from 15 to 19 exceeds 50%.

Notably, the strong regional trends are similar for all ethnicities and are not simply an artifact of a different ethnic mix in different states. For example, teen birth rates are higher for all ethnicities in the Deep South, not simply a product of those regions having large minority populations.

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