Striking findings from 2021

As 2021 draws to a close, here are some of Pew Research Center’s most striking research findings from the past year. These 15 findings cover subjects ranging from extreme weather to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing demographic shifts in the United States. And they represent just a small slice of the year’s full list of research publications.

1. A growing share of childless Americans say it is unlikely they will ever have children, an October survey found. Some 44% of non-parents ages 18 to 49 say it is not too or not at all likely that they will have children someday, an increase from the 37% who said the same in 2018. Meanwhile, 74% of adults younger than 50 who are already parents say they are unlikely to have more kids, virtually unchanged since 2018.

What’s behind the growing share of non-parents younger than 50 who expect not to have children? A majority (56%) say a major reason is that they just don’t want to. Among those who point to some other reason, about two-in-ten (19%) say it’s due to medical reasons, 17% say it’s for financial reasons and 15% say it’s because they do not have a partner. Roughly one-in-ten point to their age or their partner’s age (10%), or to the state of the world (9%).