Broken Secrets

August is the Most Popular Month for Births

August 19, 2010 at 5:00 am Broken Secrets 8 comments

By Kaye Nemec

Worldwide, there are around 140 million births each year (down from 173 million in the late 1990s). That’s about 4 births every second.

The United States accounts for more than 4 million of those annual births.

Around the world, more babies are born during the month of August than any other month.  India and China have the most August newborns at 19.5% and 11.6% of babies born during August respectively. That’s 6 and 4 times more than we have in the United States during August; however, it still remains our highest birth month. In general, more babies arrive in late summer and early fall than any other time of year, but the most recent data puts August at the top of the list.

If you do the math and count nine months back from August, you’ll land at November. It is starting to get colder and the holiday season is in full swing. One school of thought believes these factors explain why August is such a popular birth month. Others believe it comes down to planning. There are people who try to plan their childbirth to coincide with summer vacations and lighter summer work schedules.

In contrast, the month of February has the lowest birth rate.

If you ask Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, he outlines in another best selling book, Outliers, why January and February may be the most beneficial month for your baby to be born.

Apparently, if you look at professional Hockey and Soccer players, 67% of them are born in January or February. He believes this is not a coincidence, because of age/date cutoffs, players born in these months get an extra 6 months experience compared to the other kids in the same age group, giving them a huge advantage. This advantage is most beneficial at an earlier age when the kids are streamed into more and less advanced leagues.

At a young age, 6 months development makes a big difference, giving the slightly older kids more coaching and more opportunity to develop higher level skills. This cycle repeats itself each year, raising the slightly older kids with years of better opportunities to improve.

More interesting facts:

1. Wednesday has more births than any other day of the week.
2. Sunday has the fewest births.
3. With 21 babies born for every 1,000 people, Utah continues to have the highest birth rate in the United States.
4. The State of Virginia has the lowest birth rate with 10 babies born for every 1,000 people.
5. Congo has the highest birth rate of any country at 49.6 births per 1,000 people.
6. Hong Kong and Macau are tied for the lowest birth rate at 7.6 / 1,000 people.

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Sources: DidYouKnow.org, BabyCenter.com, Business Week, Wikipedia (Birth Rates, World Population)

Photo: treyevan (cc)

Entry filed under: Demystified. Tags: august, birth, birthrate, kaye nemec, rate, usa, world.