One in every 37 babies born in the world today is born in the United States. United States has about 3,600,000 births a year, around 2.7% of all births worldwide.

Births per year
3,600,000
Share of world births
2.7%
Birth odds
1/37
Life expectancy
78 years
Risk of dying before age 5
0.6%
Income per person, PPP
$80,000
Children per woman
1.6
Urban population
83%

Life expectancy in United States is 78 years, which is 5 years longer than the world average.

Of every 1,000 babies born here, about 6 do not reach their fifth birthday. The world average is 37 per 1,000.

Income per person is about $80,000 in purchasing power. That is 3.5 times the world average.

On average a woman has 1.6 children in her lifetime. The world average is 2.3.

About 83% of the population lives in cities. A baby born here has roughly a 17% chance of being born in the countryside.

Born in the United States: a rich country with a shorter life than expected

Life expectancy in the United States was about 70 in the 1960s and is around 78 today. Although income per person is among the highest in the world, the country trails Japan and Western Europe by several years. Researchers point to overdose deaths, road and firearm deaths, heart and vascular disease, obesity and unequal access to health insurance. In 2020 and 2021 the pandemic pushed the average back by a few years.

Fertility has changed too. It was above 3.5 children per woman during the baby boom of the 1950s, then fell quickly after the late 2000s to today's 1.6. A baby's chances in the United States vary widely by state and neighborhood. Life expectancy can differ by a decade between the poorest and the wealthiest counties, and access to health care and a good school largely explains it. Firearm violence and overdoses pull the average down among young adults in particular, while at older ages the United States closes less of the gap with other rich countries.

Religious makeup

  • Christianity64%
  • No religion30%
  • Judaism2%
  • Other beliefs4%

Sample names given to people born in this country in the game

Liam · Noah · Oliver · James · Olivia · Emma · Ava · Amelia

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Countries with a similar number of births

Birth odds for every country →

Values are rounded approximations. Sources: UN World Population Prospects 2024, World Bank WDI, Pew Research Center 2020.