Historical chart and dataset showing Africa fertility rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

In 2024, the fertility rate in Africa was *** children per woman. The average number of newborn infants per woman on the continent decreased compared to 2000, when women had approximately **** children throughout their reproductive years. By 2030, fertility in Africa is projected to decline to around *** births per woman, yet it will remain high. The highest fertility rate worldwide Despite its gradually declining rate, fertility in Africa is the highest in the world. In 2021, the average fertility rate on the continent stood at **** children per woman, compared to a global average of **** births per woman. In contrast, Europe and North America were the continents with the lowest proportion of newborns, each registering a fertility rate below two children per woman. Additionally, Africa records the highest fertility rate among the young female population aged 15 to 19 years. In 2021, West and Central Africa had an adolescent fertility rate of *** children per 1,000 girls, the highest value worldwide. Lower fertility in Northern Africa Fertility levels vary significantly across Africa. In 2021, Niger, Somalia, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were the countries with the highest fertility rates on the continent. In those countries, women had an average of over *** children in their reproductive years. The number of adolescent girls giving birth also differed within Africa. For instance, the adolescent fertility rate in North Africa stood at around **** children per 1,000 young women in 2023. On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Africa registered a higher rate of ****** children per 1,000 girls in 2021. In general, higher poverty levels, inadequate social and health conditions, and increased infant mortality are some main drivers of higher fertility rates.

In 2021, Niger was the African country with the highest fertility rate. There, each woman had an average of 6.82 children in her reproductive years. Somalia and Chad followed, with a fertility rate of around 6.31 and 6.26 children per woman, respectively. Fertility levels in Africa remain high despite a steady decline The fertility rate in Africa has gradually decreased since 2000 and is projected to decline further in the coming years. Factors including improved socio-economic conditions and educational opportunities, lower infant mortality, and decreasing poverty levels have driven the declining birth rate on the continent. Nevertheless, Africa remains the continent with the highest fertility rate worldwide. Between 2015 and 2021, women in Africa had an average of 4.47 children in their reproductive years. Africa was the only continent registering a fertility rate higher than the global average, which was set at 2.32 children per woman. Worldwide, the continent also had the highest adolescent fertility rate as of 2021, with West and Central Africa leading with 107 births per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 years. Africa’s population keeps growing According to projections, over 46 million births will be registered in Africa in 2023. Contrary to the declining fertility rate, the absolute number of births on the continent will continue to grow in the coming years to reach around 50.1 million by 2026. In general, Africa’s population – amounting to over 1.39 billion inhabitants as of 2021 – is forecast to increase considerably and achieve almost 2.5 billion in 2050. Countries such as Niger, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea are key drivers of population growth in Africa, registering the highest average population growth rate on the continent between 2020 and 2025. For instance, in that period, Niger’s population was forecast to expand by 3.7 percent each year.

Africa birth rate for 2025 is 30.91, a 1.1% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Africa birth rate for 2024 was <strong>31.26</strong>, a <strong>1.09% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Africa birth rate for 2023 was <strong>31.60</strong>, a <strong>1.27% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Africa birth rate for 2022 was <strong>32.01</strong>, a <strong>1.25% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.

Graph and download economic data for Fertility Rate, Total: All Income Levels for Sub-Saharan Africa (SPDYNTFRTINSSF) from 1960 to 2023 about Sub-Saharan Africa, fertility, income, and rate.

In 2025, there are six countries, all in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the average woman of childbearing age can expect to have between 5-6 children throughout their lifetime. In fact, of the 20 countries in the world with the highest fertility rates, Afghanistan and Yemen are the only countries not found in Sub-Saharan Africa. High fertility rates in Africa With a fertility rate of almost six children per woman, Chad is the country with the highest fertility rate in the world. Population growth in Chad is among the highest in the world. Lack of healthcare access, as well as food instability, political instability, and climate change, are all exacerbating conditions that keep Chad's infant mortality rates high, which is generally the driver behind high fertility rates. This situation is common across much of the continent, and, although there has been considerable progress in recent decades, development in Sub-Saharan Africa is not moving as quickly as it did in other regions. Demographic transition While these countries have the highest fertility rates in the world, their rates are all on a generally downward trajectory due to a phenomenon known as the demographic transition. The third stage (of five) of this transition sees birth rates drop in response to decreased infant and child mortality, as families no longer feel the need to compensate for lost children. Eventually, fertility rates fall below replacement level (approximately 2.1 children per woman), which eventually leads to natural population decline once life expectancy plateaus. In some of the most developed countries today, low fertility rates are creating severe econoic and societal challenges as workforces are shrinking while aging populations are placin a greater burden on both public and personal resources.

This statistic shows the fertility rate in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2013 to 2023. The fertility rate is the average number of children born to one woman while being of child-bearing age. Sub-Saharan Africa includes almost all countries south of the Sahara desert. In 2023, the fertility rate in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to 4.33 children per woman.

Central African Republic fertility rate for 2025 is 4.23, a 1.74% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Central African Republic fertility rate for 2024 was <strong>4.30</strong>, a <strong>1.71% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Central African Republic fertility rate for 2023 was <strong>4.38</strong>, a <strong>1.68% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Central African Republic fertility rate for 2022 was <strong>4.45</strong>, a <strong>1.68% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.

South Africa ZA: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data was reported at 2.458 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.485 Ratio for 2015. South Africa ZA: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data is updated yearly, averaging 3.924 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.041 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 2.458 Ratio in 2016. South Africa ZA: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average; Relevance to gender indicator: it can indicate the status of women within households and a woman’s decision about the number and spacing of children.

Historical chart and dataset showing Sub-Saharan Africa fertility rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Fertility Rate, Total: All Income Levels for Middle East and North Africa (SPDYNTFRTINMEA) from 1960 to 2023 about North Africa, Middle East, fertility, income, and rate.

A flexible model to reconstruct education-specific fertility rates: Sub-saharan Africa case study

The fertility rates are consistent with the United Nation World Population Prospects (UN WPP) 2022 fertility rates.

The Bayesian model developed to reconstruct the fertility rates using Demographic and Health Surveys and the UN WPP is published in a working paper.

Abstract

The future world population growth and size will be largely determined by the pace of fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa. Correct estimates of education-specific fertility rates are crucial for projecting the future population. Yet, consistent cross-country comparable estimates of education-specific fertility for sub-Saharan African countries are still lacking. We propose a flexible Bayesian hierarchical model to reconstruct education-specific fertility rates by using the patchy Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data and the United Nations’ (UN) reliable estimates of total fertility rates (TFR). Our model produces estimates that match the UN TFR to different extents (in other words, estimates of varying levels of consistency with the UN). We present three model specifications: consistent but not identical with the UN, fully-consistent (nearly identical) with the UN, and consistent with the DHS. Further, we provide a full time series of education-specific TFR estimates covering five-year periods between 1980 and 2014 for 36 sub-Saharan African countries. The results show that the DHS-consistent estimates are usually higher than the UN-fully-consistent ones. The differences between the three model estimates vary substantially in size across countries, yielding 1980-2014 fertility trends that differ from each other mostly in level only but in some cases also in direction.

Funding

The data set are part of the BayesEdu Project at Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, OeAW, University of Vienna) funded from the “Innovation Fund Research, Science and Society” by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).

We provide education-specific total fertility rates (ESTFR) from three model specifications: (1) estimated TFR consistent but not identical with the TFR estimated by the UN (“Main model (UN-consistent)”; (2) estimated TFR fully consistent (nearly identical) with the TFR estimated by the UN ( “UN-fully -consistent”, and (3) estimated TFR consistent only with the TFR estimated by the DHS ( “DHS-consistent”).

For education- and age-specific fertility rates that are UN-fully consistent, please see https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8182960

Variables

Country: Country names

Education: Four education levels, No Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education and Higher Education.

Year: Five-year periods between 1980 and 2015.

ESTFR: Median education-specific total fertility rate estimate

sd: Standard deviation

Upp50: 50% Upper Credible Interval

Lwr50: 50% Lower Credible Interval

Upp80: 80% Upper Credible Interval

Lwr80: 80% Lower Credible Interval

Model: Three model specifications as explained above and in the working paper. DHS-consistent, Main model (UN-consistent) and UN-fully consistent.

List of countries:

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

The total fertility rate of the world has dropped from around 5 children per woman in 1950, to 2.2 children per woman in 2025, which means that women today are having fewer than half the number of children that women did 75 years ago. Replacement level fertility This change has come as a result of the global demographic transition, and is influenced by factors such as the significant reduction in infant and child mortality, reduced number of child marriages, increased educational and vocational opportunities for women, and the increased efficacy and availability of contraception. While this change has become synonymous with societal progress, it does have wide-reaching demographic impact - if the global average falls below replacement level (roughly 2.1 children per woman), as is expected to happen in the 2050s, then this will lead to long-term population decline on a global scale. Regional variations When broken down by continent, Africa is the only region with a fertility rate above the global average, and, alongside Oceania, it is the only region with a fertility rate above replacement level. Until the 1980s, the average woman in Africa could expect to have 6-7 children over the course of their lifetime, and there are still several countries in Africa where women can still expect to have 5 or more children in 2025. Historically, Europe has had the lowest fertility rates in the world over the past century, falling below replacement level in 1975. Europe's population has grown through a combination of migration and increasing life expectancy, however even high immigration rates could not prevent its population from going into decline in 2021.

This horizontal bar chart displays fertility rate (births per woman) by country full name using the aggregation average, weighted by population female in Eastern Africa. The data is about countries.

United States Total Fertility Rate: Black data was reported at 1,581.000 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,639.000 % for 2022. United States Total Fertility Rate: Black data is updated yearly, averaging 2,062.000 % from Dec 1985 (Median) to 2023, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,480.000 % in 1990 and a record low of 1,581.000 % in 2023. United States Total Fertility Rate: Black data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G013: Fertility Rate.

Central African Republic CF: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data was reported at 6.012 Ratio in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.023 Ratio for 2022. Central African Republic CF: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data is updated yearly, averaging 6.011 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.167 Ratio in 1981 and a record low of 5.784 Ratio in 2004. Central African Republic CF: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;Relevance to gender indicator: it can indicate the status of women within households and a woman’s decision about the number and spacing of children.

While the BRICS countries are grouped together in terms of economic development, demographic progress varies across these five countries. In 2019, India and South Africa were the only BRICS countries with a fertility rate above replacement level (2.1 births per woman). Fertility rates since 2000 show that fertility in China and Russia has either fluctuated or remained fairly steady, as these two countries are at a later stage of the demographic transition than the other three, while Brazil has reached this stage more recently. Fertility rates in India are following a similar trend to Brazil, while South Africa's rate is progressing at a much slower pace. Demographic development is inextricably linked with economic growth; for example, as fertility rates drop, female participation in the workforce increases, as does the average age, which then leads to higher productivity and a more profitable domestic market.

Historical dataset showing Central African Republic fertility rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

Historical dataset showing Sub-Saharan Africa fertility rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

This scatter chart displays birth rate (per 1,000 people) against fertility rate (births per woman) in Western Africa. The data is about countries.