The average for 2022 based on 196 countries was 18.19 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in the Central African Republic: 45.42 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Hong Kong: 4.4 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Niger had the highest birth rate in the world in 2024, with a birth rate of 46.6 births per 1,000 inhabitants. Angola, Benin, Mali, and Uganda followed. Except for Afghanistan, all 20 countries with the highest birth rates in the world were located in Sub-Saharan Africa. High infant mortality The reasons behind the high birth rates in many Sub-Saharan African countries are manyfold, but a major reason is that infant mortality remains high on the continent, despite decreasing steadily over the past decades, resulting in high birth rates to counter death rates. Moreover, many nations in Sub-Saharan Africa are highly reliant on small-scale farming, meaning that more hands are of importance. Additionally, polygamy is not uncommon in the region, and having many children is often seen as a symbol of status. Fastest-growing populations As the high fertility rates coincide with decreasing death rates, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest population growth rates in the world. As a result, Africa's population is forecast to increase from 1.4 billion in 2022 to over 3.9 billion by 2100.

The average for 2022 based on 67 countries was 9.86 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in Israel: 19 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Hong Kong: 4.4 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, Cyprus ranked first by crude birth rate in live births per 1,000 inhabitants among the 27 countries presented in the ranking. Cyprus' rate amounted to *****, while Ireland and France, the second and third countries, had records amounting to ***** and ****, respectively.

In 2023, the birth rate for women aged 15 to 19 years in the Central African Republic was *** per 1,000 women of that age, the highest adolescent birth rate of any country worldwide. This statistic shows the leading 20 countries based on adolescent birth rate in 2023, per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest fertility rates in 2024. All figures are estimates. In 2024, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.11 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. Fertility rate The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country. Usually, a woman aged between 15 and 45 is considered to be in her child-bearing years. The fertility rate of a country provides an insight into its economic state, as well as the level of health and education of its population. Developing countries usually have a higher fertility rate due to lack of access to birth control and contraception, and to women usually foregoing a higher education, or even any education at all, in favor of taking care of housework. Many families in poorer countries also need their children to help provide for the family by starting to work early and/or as caretakers for their parents in old age. In developed countries, fertility rates and birth rates are usually much lower, as birth control is easier to obtain and women often choose a career before becoming a mother. Additionally, if the number of women of child-bearing age declines, so does the fertility rate of a country. As can be seen above, countries like Hong Kong are a good example for women leaving the patriarchal structures and focusing on their own career instead of becoming a mother at a young age, causing a decline of the country’s fertility rate. A look at the fertility rate per woman worldwide by income group also shows that women with a low income tend to have more children than those with a high income. The United States are neither among the countries with the lowest, nor among those with the highest fertility rate, by the way. At 2.08 children per woman, the fertility rate in the US has been continuously slightly below the global average of about 2.4 children per woman over the last decade.

In 2023, there were five countries, where the average woman of childbearing age can expect to have over six 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 6.13 and 6.12 children per woman, Somalia and Chad were the countries 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.

The average for 2022 based on 27 countries was 8.94 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in Cyprus: 11.05 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Italy: 6.7 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 24 countries was 13.59 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in Haiti: 22.55 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Puerto Rico: 5.9 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, Bulgaria ranked first by total fertility rate in children per woman among the 27 countries presented in the ranking. Bulgaria's fertility rate amounted to ****, while Romania and France, the second and third countries, had records amounting to **** and ****, respectively.

In 2024, Monaco was the European country estimated to have the highest fertility rate. The country had a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. Other small countries such as Gibraltar or Montenegro also came towards the top of the list for 2024, while the large country with the highest fertility rate was France, with 1.64 children per woman. On the other hand, Ukraine had the lowest fertility rate, averaging around one child per woman.

Cross sectional data, all countries for the statistic Fertility_Rate. Indicator Definition: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.Indicator Unit:The statistic is measured in Births Per Woman.Descriptive Statistics regarding the Indicator "Fertility Rate":The number of countries with data stands at: 210 countries.The average value across those countries stands at: 2.37.The standard deviation across those countries stands at: 1.19.The lowest value stands at: 0.586, and was observed in Macao SAR, China, which in this case constitutes the country that ranks last.The highest value stands at: 6.12, and was observed in Chad, which in this case constitutes the country that ranks first.Looking at countries with values, the top 5 countries are:1. Chad, actual value 6.12, actual ranking 1.2. Niger, actual value 6.06, actual ranking 2.3. Congo, Dem. Rep., actual value 6.05, actual ranking 3.4. Central African Republic, actual value 6.01, actual ranking 4.5. Mali, actual value 5.61, actual ranking 5.Looking at countries with values, the bottom 5 countries are:1. Macao SAR, China, actual value 0.586, actual ranking 210.2. Korea, Rep., actual value 0.721, actual ranking 209.3. Hong Kong SAR, China, actual value 0.751, actual ranking 208.4. Singapore, actual value 0.97, actual ranking 207.5. Ukraine, actual value 0.977, actual ranking 206.

The average for 2022 based on 7 countries was 8.94 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in the USA: 11 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Japan: 6.3 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2025, Mongolia had the highest crude birth rate among East Asian countries or regions, with a crude birth rate of **** live births per 1,000 of the population. Comparatively, South Korea had *** live births per 1,000 of the population in 2025.

Time series data for the statistic Birth_Rate_Crude_Per_1000_People and country United Kingdom. Indicator Definition: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.The statistic "Birth Rate Crude Per 1000 People" stands at 10.02 per mille as of 12/31/2023, the lowest value at least since 12/31/1961, the period currently displayed. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes a decrease of -0.077 percentage points compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percentage points is -0.077.The 3 year change in percentage points is -0.181.The 5 year change in percentage points is -0.977.The 10 year change in percentage points is -2.08.The Serie's long term average value is 13.38 per mille. It's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is 3.36 percentage points lower, compared to it's long term average value.The Serie's change in percentage points from it's minimum value, on 12/31/2023, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is +0.0.The Serie's change in percentage points from it's maximum value, on 12/31/1964, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is -8.78.

Time series data for the statistic Birth_Rate_Crude_Per_1000_People and country Aruba. Indicator Definition: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.The statistic "Birth Rate Crude Per 1000 People" stands at 7.97 per mille as of 12/31/2023, the lowest value at least since 12/31/1961, the period currently displayed. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes a decrease of -0.554 percentage points compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percentage points is -0.554.The 3 year change in percentage points is -1.72.The 5 year change in percentage points is -2.83.The 10 year change in percentage points is -4.58.The Serie's long term average value is 17.28 per mille. It's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is 9.31 percentage points lower, compared to it's long term average value.The Serie's change in percentage points from it's minimum value, on 12/31/2023, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is +0.0.The Serie's change in percentage points from it's maximum value, on 12/31/1960, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is -24.07.

Time series data for the statistic Birth_Rate_Crude_Per_1000_People and country Croatia. Indicator Definition: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.The statistic "Birth Rate Crude Per 1000 People" stands at 8.30 per mille as of 12/31/2023, the lowest value at least since 12/31/1961, the period currently displayed. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes a decrease of -0.5 percentage points compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percentage points is -0.5.The 3 year change in percentage points is -0.6.The 5 year change in percentage points is -0.7.The 10 year change in percentage points is -1.10.The Serie's long term average value is 12.16 per mille. It's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is 3.86 percentage points lower, compared to it's long term average value.The Serie's change in percentage points from it's minimum value, on 12/31/2023, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is +0.0.The Serie's change in percentage points from it's maximum value, on 12/31/1960, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is -10.10.

This dataset presents the estimated percentage of babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed, by country. Preterm birth is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Understanding national rates supports efforts to improve antenatal care, timely interventions, and newborn outcomes. These estimates are adapted from Liang et al. (2024), based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, and provide a globally comparable measure of preterm birth burden.Data Source:The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00419-X/fulltext Data Dictionary: The data is collated with the following columns:Column headingContent of this columnPossible valuesRefNumerical counter for each row of data, for ease of identification1+CountryShort name for the country195 countries in total – all 194 WHO member states plus PalestineISO3Three-digit alphabetical codes International Standard ISO 3166-1 assigned by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). e.g. AFG (Afghanistan)ISO22 letter identifier code for the countrye.g. AF (Afghanistan)ICM_regionICM Region for countryAFR (Africa), AMR (Americas), EMR (Eastern Mediterranean), EUR (Europe), SEAR (South east Asia) or WPR (Western Pacific)CodeUnique project code for each indicator:GGTXXnnnGG=data group e.g. OU for outcomeT = N for novice or E for ExpertXX = identifier number 00 to 30nnn = identifier name eg mmre.g. OUN01sbafor Outcome Novice Indicator 01 skilled birth attendance Short_nameIndicator namee.g. maternal mortality ratioDescriptionText description of the indicator to be used on websitee.g. Maternal mortality ratio (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births)Value_typeDescribes the indicator typeNumeric: decimal numberPercentage: value between 0 & 100Text: value from list of text optionsY/N: yes or noValue_categoryExpect this to be ‘total’ for all indicators for Phase 1, but this could allow future disaggregation, e.g. male/female; urban/ruraltotalYearThe year that the indicator value was reported. For most indicators, we will only report if 2014 or more recente.g. 2020Latest_Value‘LATEST’ if this is the most recent reported value for the indicator since 2014, otherwise ‘No’. Useful for indicators with time trend data.LATEST or NOValueIndicator valuee.g. 99.8. NB Some indicators are calculated to several decimal places. We present the value to the number of decimal places that should be displayed on the Hub.SourceFor Caesarean birth rate [OUN13cbr] ONLY, this column indicates the source of the data, either OECD when reported, or UNICEF otherwise.OECD or UNICEFTargetHow does the latest value compare with Global guidelines / targets?meets targetdoes not meet targetmeets global standarddoes not meet global standardRankGlobal rank for indicator, i.e. the country with the best global score for this indicator will have rank = 1, next = 2, etc. This ranking is only appropriate for a few indicators, others will show ‘na’1-195Rank out ofThe total number of countries who have reported a value for this indicator. Ranking scores will only go as high as this number.Up to 195TrendIf historic data is available, an indication of the change over time. If there is a global target, then the trend is either getting better, static or getting worse. For mmr [OUN04mmr] and nmr [OUN05nmr] the average annual rate of reduction (arr) between 2016 and latest value is used to determine the trend:arr <-1.0 = getting worsearr >=-1.0 AND <=1.0 = staticarr >1.0 = getting betterFor other indicators, the trend is estimated by comparing the average of the last three years with the average ten years ago:decreasing if now < 95% 10 yrs agoincreasing if now > 105% 10 yrs agostatic otherwiseincreasingdecreasing Or, if there is a global target: getting better,static,getting worseNotesClarification comments, when necessary LongitudeFor use with mapping LatitudeFor use with mapping DateDate data uploaded to the Hub the following codes are also possible values: not reported does not apply don’t know This is one of many datasets featured on the Midwives’ Data Hub, a digital platform designed to strengthen midwifery and advocate for better maternal and newborn health services.

The average for 2022 based on 28 countries was 33.18 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in the Central African Republic: 45.42 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in North Korea: 13.15 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 11 countries was 9.21 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in the USA: 11 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Japan: 6.3 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.