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Mapped: Every Country’s Fertility Rate as Births Decline Worldwide

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Every Country’s Fertility Rate as Births Decline Worldwide

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Key Takeaways

  • 71% of the global population lives in countries below replacement fertility (2.1 births per woman).
  • Major economies like China (1.02), the U.S. (1.62), and Brazil (1.60) are all below this threshold.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa stands out, with fertility rates often above 4.0 and driving future growth.

Most of the world is no longer having enough children to sustain its population.

This map shows fertility rates for every country using data from the United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 Revision. It highlights a widening global divide: while birth rates have fallen across much of Asia, Europe, and the Americas, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to see far higher fertility.

As a result, future population growth is becoming increasingly concentrated in a smaller number of regions, with major implications for economies and labor markets.

A World Below Replacement

Today, roughly 71% of the global population lives in countries with fertility rates below replacement level. This marks a major demographic shift, as many of the world’s largest economies transition from population growth to long-term decline.

Major population centers like China (1.02), the United States (1.62), and Brazil (1.60) all fall into this category.

Rank Country Population Fertility Rate
1 Chad 21.0M 5.94
2 Somalia 19.6M 5.91
3 DR Congo 112.8M 5.90
4 Central African Republic 5.5M 5.81
5 Niger 27.9M 5.79
6 Mali 25.2M 5.42
7 Angola 39.0M 4.95
8 Burundi 14.4M 4.68
9 Afghanistan 43.8M 4.66
10 Mozambique 35.6M 4.62
11 Mauritania 5.3M 4.56
12 Mayotte 340K 4.50
13 Tanzania 70.5M 4.47
14 Benin 14.8M 4.42
15 Yemen 41.8M 4.41
16 Nigeria 237.5M 4.30
17 Sudan 51.7M 4.19
18 Cameroon 29.9M 4.19
19 Ivory Coast 32.7M 4.17
20 Togo 9.7M 4.07
21 Uganda 51.4M 4.06
22 Congo 6.5M 4.05
23 Guinea 15.1M 4.04
24 Equatorial Guinea 1.9M 4.04
25 Burkina Faso 24.1M 4.00
26 Zambia 21.9M 3.97
27 Madagascar 32.7M 3.84
28 Ethiopia 135.5M 3.81
29 Gambia 2.8M 3.80
30 Liberia 5.7M 3.79
31 Comoros 880K 3.76
32 Samoa 220K 3.75
33 Senegal 18.9M 3.71
34 South Sudan 12.2M 3.71
35 Guinea-Bissau 2.2M 3.68
36 Zimbabwe 16.9M 3.62
37 Eritrea 3.6M 3.61
38 Sierra Leone 8.8M 3.61
39 Rwanda 14.6M 3.59
40 Gabon 2.6M 3.54
41 Vanuatu 340K 3.53
42 Malawi 22.2M 3.53
43 Sao Tome and Principe 240K 3.53
44 Pakistan 255.2M 3.50
45 Solomon Islands 840K 3.47
46 Uzbekistan 37.0M 3.45
47 Ghana 35.1M 3.30
48 French Guiana 310K 3.29
49 Nauru 10K 3.25
50 Palestine 5.6M 3.19
51 Iraq 47.0M 3.17
52 Namibia 3.1M 3.17
53 Tuvalu 10K 3.14
54 Kenya 57.5M 3.12
55 Kiribati 140K 3.09
56 Tonga 100K 3.07
57 Papua New Guinea 10.8M 3.03
58 Tajikistan 10.8M 2.99
59 Kazakhstan 20.8M 2.95
60 Marshall Islands 40K 2.82
61 Israel 9.5M 2.75
62 Kyrgyzstan 7.3M 2.75
63 Guam 170K 2.71
64 Egypt 118.4M 2.71
65 Micronesia 110K 2.71
66 Eswatini 1.3M 2.68
67 Algeria 47.4M 2.67
68 Botswana 2.6M 2.66
69 Syria 25.6M 2.66
70 Lesotho 2.4M 2.64
71 Saint Martin (French part) 20K 2.63
72 Turkmenistan 7.6M 2.63
73 Haiti 11.9M 2.59
74 Mongolia 3.5M 2.58
75 Djibouti 1.2M 2.58
76 Jordan 11.5M 2.57
77 Tokelau 0.0K 2.57
78 Timor-Leste 1.4M 2.56
79 Cambodia 17.9M 2.51
80 Bolivia 12.6M 2.50
81 Oman 5.5M 2.48
82 Niue 0.0K 2.46
83 Honduras 11.0M 2.45
84 Paraguay 7.0M 2.39
85 Guyana 840K 2.37
86 Laos 7.9M 2.36
87 Saudi Arabia 34.6M 2.29
88 Northern Mariana Islands 40K 2.28
89 Guatemala 18.7M 2.26
90 Libya 7.5M 2.25
91 Fiji 930K 2.25
92 American Samoa 50K 2.25
93 Suriname 640K 2.21
94 Lebanon 5.8M 2.21
95 Faroe Islands 60K 2.20
96 Dominican Republic 11.5M 2.19
97 South Africa 64.8M 2.19
98 Morocco 38.4M 2.18
99 Nicaragua 7.0M 2.18
100 Western Sahara 600K 2.15
101 Réunion 880K 2.13
102 Bangladesh 175.7M 2.11
103 Indonesia 285.7M 2.10
104 Monaco 40K 2.09
105 Panama 4.6M 2.09
106 Seychelles 130K 2.08
107 Myanmar 54.9M 2.08
108 United States Virgin Islands 80K 2.07
109 Venezuela 28.5M 2.06
110 Guadeloupe 370K 2.05
111 Belize 420K 2.01
112 Cook Islands 10K 2.00
113 Martinique 340K 1.97
114 New Caledonia 300K 1.95
115 India 1.46B 1.94
116 Peru 34.6M 1.94
117 Sri Lanka 23.2M 1.94
118 Nepal 29.6M 1.94
119 Greenland 60K 1.91
120 Gibraltar 40K 1.88
121 Vietnam 101.6M 1.88
122 Philippines 116.8M 1.88
123 Mexico 131.9M 1.87
124 Palau 20K 1.86
125 Tunisia 12.3M 1.80
126 Montenegro 630K 1.80
127 Ecuador 18.3M 1.79
128 Georgia 3.8M 1.79
129 Bahrain 1.6M 1.78
130 Dem. People's Republic of Korea 26.6M 1.77
131 El Salvador 6.4M 1.75
132 St. Vincent & Grenadines 100K 1.75
133 Bulgaria 6.7M 1.74
134 Moldova 3.0M 1.72
135 Armenia 3.0M 1.71
136 Brunei 470K 1.71
137 Romania 18.9M 1.71
138 Barbados 280K 1.70
139 Qatar 3.1M 1.70
140 Falkland Islands 0.0K 1.69
141 Iran 92.4M 1.67
142 Azerbaijan 10.4M 1.66
143 New Zealand 5.2M 1.65
144 St. Helena 10K 1.64
145 Australia 27.0M 1.64
146 France 66.7M 1.64
147 United States 347.3M 1.62
148 Turkey 87.7M 1.62
149 Colombia 53.4M 1.62
150 Aruba 110K 1.61
151 Brazil 212.8M 1.60
152 Ireland 5.3M 1.60
153 Slovenia 2.1M 1.58
154 Antigua and Barbuda 90K 1.58
155 Slovakia 5.5M 1.57
156 Maldives 530K 1.55
157 Liechtenstein 40K 1.54
158 United Kingdom 69.5M 1.54
159 Isle of Man 80K 1.53
160 Malaysia 36.0M 1.53
161 Kosovo 1.7M 1.53
162 Trinidad and Tobago 1.5M 1.52
163 Denmark 6.0M 1.52
164 Portugal 10.4M 1.52
165 Cayman Islands 80K 1.51
166 St. Kitts & Nevis 50K 1.51
167 Argentina 45.9M 1.50
168 Serbia 6.7M 1.50
169 Iceland 400K 1.50
170 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.1M 1.50
171 Kuwait 5.0M 1.50
172 Cape Verde 530K 1.50
173 Hungary 9.6M 1.50
174 French Polynesia 280K 1.48
175 Croatia 3.9M 1.47
176 Dominica 70K 1.47
177 North Macedonia 1.8M 1.47
178 Czechia 10.6M 1.47
179 Russia 144.0M 1.46
180 Grenada 120K 1.46
181 Germany 84.1M 1.46
182 Cuba 10.9M 1.45
183 Bonaire 30K 1.45
184 Montserrat 0.0K 1.45
185 Switzerland 9.0M 1.44
186 Turks and Caicos Islands 50K 1.44
187 Netherlands 18.4M 1.44
188 Sweden 10.7M 1.44
189 Bhutan 800K 1.44
190 Sint Maarten 40K 1.43
191 Norway 5.6M 1.42
192 Bermuda 60K 1.41
193 Luxembourg 680K 1.40
194 Wallis & Futuna 10K 1.40
195 Belgium 11.8M 1.39
196 Uruguay 3.4M 1.39
197 Jersey 100K 1.38
198 St. Lucia 180K 1.38
199 Estonia 1.3M 1.37
200 Guernsey 60K 1.37
201 Cyprus 1.4M 1.37
202 Bahamas 400K 1.36
203 Anguilla 10K 1.35
204 Latvia 1.9M 1.35
205 Greece 9.9M 1.34
206 Jamaica 2.8M 1.34
207 Canada 40.1M 1.33
208 Albania 2.8M 1.33
209 Austria 9.1M 1.33
210 Costa Rica 5.2M 1.31
211 Poland 38.1M 1.31
212 Finland 5.6M 1.30
213 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 10K 1.28
214 Spain 47.9M 1.23
215 Japan 123.1M 1.23
216 Belarus 9.0M 1.22
217 Lithuania 2.8M 1.22
218 Italy 59.1M 1.21
219 Mauritius 1.3M 1.21
220 United Arab Emirates 11.3M 1.21
221 Thailand 71.6M 1.19
222 San Marino 30K 1.16
223 Chile 19.9M 1.13
224 Malta 550K 1.11
225 Andorra 80K 1.10
226 Curacao 190K 1.07
227 British Virgin Islands 40K 1.06
228 China 1.42B 1.02
229 Ukraine 39.0M 1.00
230 Singapore 5.9M 0.96
231 Puerto Rico 3.2M 0.94
232 Taiwan 23.1M 0.86
233 St. Barthélemy 10K 0.83
234 South Korea 51.7M 0.75
235 Hong Kong 7.4M 0.74
236 Macao 720K 0.69

China’s Historic Decline

With a fertility rate of just 1.02, China is now among the lowest in the world.

This sharp decline is largely a legacy of the country’s one-child policy, which was in place from 1980 to 2015. Despite policy reversals and financial incentives, fertility has remained depressed. Notably, no country that has fallen to such low levels has successfully returned to replacement rates.

Africa Drives Future Growth

While most countries are experiencing declining birth rates, much of Sub-Saharan Africa remains on a very different trajectory.

Fertility rates above 4.0 are still common, supporting rapid population growth across the region.

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