Illegitimate Children

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The number of illegitimate births has skyrocketed in the U.S. since 1940


41% of U.S. births are illegitimate births in 2010

The number of illegitimate births has skyrocketed in the U.S. since 1940, as has the number of "families" with children and no marriage. In the 1940s fewer than five percent of the total births were out of wedlock. But check out recent figures:

• Percent of all births to unmarried women in 1980: 18.4%
  
• Percent of all births to unmarried women in 1990: 28.0%
  
• Percent of all births to unmarried women in 2000: 33.2%
  
• Percent of all births to unmarried women in 2010: 40.8%
  
• Number of live births to unmarried women in 2010: 1,633,471
  
• Birth rate for unmarried women: 47.6 births per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15-44 years in 2010
  

41% of first marriages in the U.S. end in divorce—no wonder nearly 41% of births are to unmarrieds

(Division of Vital Statistics [DVS], U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics; and "Illegitimacy", West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005, Encyclopedia.com, February 27, 2013, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437702193.html )

Illegitimacy 2011 (Source: Births to Unmarried Women; childtrendsdatabank.org)


Illegitimacy percentage (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)


Illegitimacy Rate late 20th century (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)