Adults in their 20s and 30s plan to have fewer children than adults did a decade ago. This is according to a new report by Pew Research Center report findings. 

From 2002 to 2012, American men and women aged 20 to 39 reported that they planned to have an average of 2.3 children. The research analysis of government data show in 2023, the number of children adults reported they wanted decreased to an average of 1.8. 

Pew looked at data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, specifically from the National Survey of Family Growth, which gathers information on pregnancy and births, marriage and cohabitation, infertility, use of contraception, family life, and general and reproductive health.

Pew reported that the total number of children included kids the respondents already had, plus any future children they planned to have. Women were asked how many “live births they have had” and men were asked how many children they have “ever fathered.” Adopted children were not included in the study numbers, but children placed for adoption were.

In 2023, the total number of children that men and women ages 20 to 39 planned to have fell below 2.1. According to Pew that is the average number of children, per woman, that a population needs to replace itself over time.

In 2002, the average number of children women planned to have was 2.3 and for men, it was 2.2. These numbers remained mostly stable for the next 10 years until 2012, when they began to decline. 

The exact change in numbers varied depending on the age of the adults. In 2012, women ages 20 to 24 reported they planned to have an average of 2.3 children, but in 2023 the number fell to 1.5. For women ages 25 to 29 the amount of children they wanted declined from 2.3 to 1.9. For women ages 30 to 34, the number declined to 1.9 from 2.5.

The study found that there was not a significant drop for women ages 35 to 39. Among the men surveyed, the declines were similar across all age groups.

The research also found that education levels may affect how many children women age 25 to 39 intend to have. There was less of a decline in the number of children women who had “some college or less” planned to have than among women who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

In 2002, women with some college experience planned, on average, to have 2.4 children, which only fell to 2.2 in 2023. In 2002, women with a bachelor’s degree or higher education planned to have an average of 2.1 children, but this number declined to 1.7 in 2023.

For women 30 to 34, the decline occurred almost entirely among those with a bachelor’s degree. In 2023, women in this age group with at least a bachelor’s degree planned to have 1.5 children. The number for that group was 2.1 in 2002. Those without a bachelor’s experienced almost no change.

Pew’s analysis did not find a significant difference by education among men ages 25 to 39.

The analysis found the number of adults in their 20s and 30s who have, or intend to have, at least one child also declined.

In 2023 government data showed that over the past decade growing numbers of women have been opting to have fewer children.

But the government said Kenyans should not worry, since the country’s population will still continue to grow based on the findings from the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS).

The data showed that the number of children born had declined from 3.9 children per woman in 2014 to 3.4 children in 2022.