Birth dearth, 9/17/07

Here is why migration is so important to West Virginia. These are numbers from the Centers fro Disease Control. The 2006 numbers are preliminary, but they fit in with what has happened in past year. West Virginia has by far the lowest rate of natural replacement, that is, births compared to deaths, among the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

CDC numbers also show that West Virginia had the highest death rate in 2005, with 1,143.7 per 100,000 people. The US death rate was 825.8. It goes to show what happens when you have an older population.

(Okay, some wise guy is going to say the death rate in West Virginia is the same as it is anywhere else -- 1 per person. I beat you to it. Ha ha.).