Subject: Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Rates
Date: Published: 8/16/88 39 lines
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

    Birth, Death Rates in U. S. Rose in '87;
    Marriages, Divorces Fell, Report Says

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans had more babies in 1987 than
 in any 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 more than a decade, according to figures compiled by the
 National Center for Health Statistics.

[43 lines irrelevant to AIDS have been removed. -- sysop]

    The report for 1987 included figures for acquired immune
 deficiency syndrome for the first time, estimating between
 12,450 and 13,820 deaths during the year from the disease.
 That would place AIDS 15th among the causes of death for
 Americans, although the disease hasn't been officially
 included in the numerical rankings.
    The nation's marriage rate for 1987 was 9.9 weddings for
 each 1,000 people, the lowest since 1977, when it was also
 9.9.
    The marriage rate has been relatively low in recent years,
 a situation experts attribute to the many young people
 pursuing education and careers and choosing to live together
 out of wedlock and delaying starting families.  The all-time
 low marriage rate was 7.9 in the Depression year of 1932; the
 high was 16.4 in 1946, after servicemen returned from World
 War II. 
    The divorce rate was 4.8 for each 1,000 people, the lowest
 since 1975.  It peaked at 5.3 in 1979 and in 1981.

[This article is made available here by Dow Jones Co. for the 
personal and non-commercial use of callers to this bbs, in the 
hope that it will be of some help to those who are suffering 
from the disease and others who are seeking to help them.]