After deca des of stability, multiple births on the rise Share of births that are twins, triplets, or higher-order births
The share of multiples born in the U.S. is at an all-time high, according to recently released data from the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2014, 3.5% of all babies born were twins, triplets or higher-order multiples, accounting for almost 140,000 births.
While multiples still make up a small share of all births, this marks a dramatic increase since 1915 – the first year for which reliable data are available – when about 2% of all births were multiples. In fact, the share of multiples remained quite constant for decades until the 1980s, when it started to tick up.
After deca des of stability, multiple births on the rise  | Share of births that are twins, triplets, or higher-order births  | 4.0%  | 3.5%  | 3.5  | 3.0  | 2.5  | 2.1%  | 2.1%  | 2.0  | 1.5  | 1.0  | 0.5  | o  | 40 '45 50 55 '60 '65 '71 '75 80 '85 '90 '95 I''0 '05 '10 14  | Source: National Center for Health Statistics  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 