‘Echo’ From Baby Boom Brings Most Births Since ’64

Americans had more babies in 1987 than in any other year in nearly a quarter-century, but at the same time the nation recorded more deaths than any year in history.

Last year also saw the lowest marriage and divorce rates in over a decade, according to figures compiled by the government’s National Center for Health Statistics.

A slight increase in fertility, coupled with the huge number of women in their prime childbearing years, resulted in an estimated 3,829,000 new arrivals last year, the most since 1964, the center reported Monday in its preliminary statistical summary for 1987.

Millions of people born in the post-World War II baby boom are now in their 20s and 30s and, after completing school and launching careers, have begun families.

Because the recent jump in births is a result of the children of baby boomers producing their own offspring, social scientists have begun referring to the event as an “echo” of the baby boom.

Women in Fertile Years

The number of women in their childbearing years is expected to continue growing by about 1% annually for the next few years, according to Census Bureau estimates.

The births in 1987 were up from 3,731,000 a year earlier.

Deaths in 1987 totaled 2,127,000, up from 2,099,000 a year earlier and the most ever recorded for a single year in the United States.

The national death rate of 8.7 per 1,000 people in 1987 was unchanged from a year earlier, the report said. Life expectancy at birth was also unchanged at 74.9 years.

According to Census Bureau estimates, the U.S. population at the end of 1987 was 244.4 million, up about 2.2 million from a year earlier when net migration of more than 500,000 is added to balance between births and deaths.

The nation’s marriage rate for 1987 was 9.9 weddings per 1,000 people, the lowest since 1977, when it was also 9.9.

Divorce was also low last year, at a rate of 4.8 per 1,000 people, tying 1986 for the lowest since 1975. It peaked at 5.3 in 1979 and in 1981.