Fertility Rate

Total fertility rate: average number of children a woman would bear if she lived to the end of her childbearing years.

Latest available data

This page uses the latest available World Bank observation (2024). Country-level datasets often lag the current calendar year because they depend on official reporting and validation.

World Bank 2024

What is the global average Fertility Rate?

The global average Fertility Rate is 2.49 births per woman as of 2024. Chad has the highest at 6.03 births per woman, while Belarus has the lowest at 1.22 births per woman. Data covers 195 countries. Source: World Bank.

World Average
2.49 births per woman
Highest
Chad
6.03 births per woman
Lowest
Belarus
1.22 births per woman
Countries with Data
195
2024

Top Countries

#1 Chad 6.03 births per woman
#2 Somalia 6.01 births per woman
#3 DR Congo 5.98 births per woman
#4 Central African Republic 5.95 births per woman
#5 Niger 5.94 births per woman

Regional Averages

Africa
3.8 births per woman
54 country
Oceania
2.64 births per woman
19 country
Asia
2.36 births per woman
41 country
Americas
1.79 births per woman
43 country
Europe
1.48 births per woman
38 country

Country Rankings

View full rankings
Fertility Rate — Country Rankings (2024)
# Country Value
1 Chad 6.03 births per woman
2 Somalia 6.01 births per woman
3 DR Congo 5.98 births per woman
4 Central African Republic 5.95 births per woman
5 Niger 5.94 births per woman
6 Mali 5.51 births per woman
7 Angola 5.05 births per woman
8 Burundi 4.79 births per woman
9 Afghanistan 4.76 births per woman
10 Mozambique 4.69 births per woman
11 Mauritania 4.63 births per woman
12 Tanzania 4.54 births per woman
13 Yemen 4.5 births per woman
14 Benin 4.48 births per woman
15 Nigeria 4.38 births per woman
16 Sudan 4.26 births per woman
17 Cameroon 4.26 births per woman
18 Ivory Coast 4.23 births per woman
19 Uganda 4.17 births per woman
20 Guinea 4.13 births per woman
21 Togo 4.12 births per woman
22 Equatorial Guinea 4.12 births per woman
23 Burkina Faso 4.11 births per woman
24 Republic of the Congo 4.11 births per woman
25 Zambia 4.04 births per woman
26 Madagascar 3.91 births per woman
27 Ethiopia 3.91 births per woman
28 Gambia 3.91 births per woman
29 Liberia 3.86 births per woman
30 Comoros 3.82 births per woman
31 Samoa 3.8 births per woman
32 South Sudan 3.79 births per woman
33 Senegal 3.77 births per woman
34 Guinea-Bissau 3.76 births per woman
35 Sierra Leone 3.7 births per woman
36 Eritrea 3.68 births per woman
37 Zimbabwe 3.67 births per woman
38 Rwanda 3.65 births per woman
39 São Tomé and Príncipe 3.6 births per woman
40 Gabon 3.59 births per woman
41 Malawi 3.59 births per woman
42 Vanuatu 3.57 births per woman
43 Pakistan 3.55 births per woman
44 Solomon Islands 3.51 births per woman
45 Uzbekistan 3.49 births per woman
46 Ghana 3.34 births per woman
47 Nauru 3.29 births per woman
48 Palestine 3.25 births per woman
49 Iraq 3.22 births per woman
50 Namibia 3.21 births per woman
51 Tuvalu 3.17 births per woman
52 Kenya 3.17 births per woman
53 Kiribati 3.12 births per woman
54 Tonga 3.1 births per woman
55 Papua New Guinea 3.07 births per woman
56 Tajikistan 3.04 births per woman
57 Kazakhstan 2.98 births per woman
58 Israel 2.87 births per woman
59 Marshall Islands 2.86 births per woman
60 Guam 2.75 births per woman
61 Micronesia 2.74 births per woman
62 Egypt 2.74 births per woman
63 Algeria 2.72 births per woman
64 Eswatini 2.72 births per woman
65 Botswana 2.7 births per woman
66 Syria 2.7 births per woman
67 Saint Martin 2.67 births per woman
68 Lesotho 2.66 births per woman
69 Turkmenistan 2.66 births per woman
70 Timor-Leste 2.63 births per woman
71 Haiti 2.63 births per woman
72 Djibouti 2.62 births per woman
73 Jordan 2.6 births per woman
74 Kyrgyzstan 2.6 births per woman
75 Cambodia 2.55 births per woman
76 Bolivia 2.52 births per woman
77 Oman 2.51 births per woman
78 Mongolia 2.5 births per woman
79 Honduras 2.48 births per woman
80 Paraguay 2.42 births per woman
81 Laos 2.4 births per woman
82 Guyana 2.4 births per woman
83 Northern Mariana Islands 2.32 births per woman
84 Saudi Arabia 2.31 births per woman
85 Libya 2.3 births per woman
86 Guatemala 2.29 births per woman
87 Fiji 2.27 births per woman
88 American Samoa 2.27 births per woman
89 Suriname 2.23 births per woman
90 Lebanon 2.23 births per woman
91 Dominican Republic 2.22 births per woman
92 Morocco 2.21 births per woman
93 Nicaragua 2.21 births per woman
94 South Africa 2.21 births per woman
95 Bangladesh 2.14 births per woman
96 Indonesia 2.12 births per woman
97 Panama 2.11 births per woman
98 Monaco 2.1 births per woman
99 Myanmar 2.1 births per woman
100 Venezuela 2.08 births per woman
101 Belize 2.02 births per woman
102 United States Virgin Islands 1.97 births per woman
103 Peru 1.97 births per woman
104 New Caledonia 1.96 births per woman
105 India 1.96 births per woman
106 Nepal 1.96 births per woman
107 Sri Lanka 1.95 births per woman
108 Faroe Islands 1.91 births per woman
109 Vietnam 1.9 births per woman
110 Philippines 1.89 births per woman
111 Mexico 1.89 births per woman
112 Gibraltar 1.89 births per woman
113 Palau 1.88 births per woman
114 Seychelles 1.85 births per woman
115 Tunisia 1.82 births per woman
116 Ecuador 1.81 births per woman
117 Bahrain 1.81 births per woman
118 Georgia 1.8 births per woman
119 Montenegro 1.8 births per woman
120 North Korea 1.78 births per woman
121 El Salvador 1.77 births per woman
122 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1.76 births per woman
123 Brunei 1.73 births per woman
124 Moldova 1.73 births per woman
125 Bulgaria 1.72 births per woman
126 Qatar 1.72 births per woman
127 Barbados 1.71 births per woman
128 Greenland 1.71 births per woman
129 Armenia 1.7 births per woman
130 Iran 1.68 births per woman
131 Serbia 1.64 births per woman
132 Colombia 1.63 births per woman
133 United States 1.63 births per woman
134 Brazil 1.61 births per woman
135 France 1.61 births per woman
136 Aruba 1.61 births per woman
137 Antigua and Barbuda 1.58 births per woman
138 New Zealand 1.57 births per woman
139 Iceland 1.56 births per woman
140 Kuwait 1.56 births per woman
141 Maldives 1.56 births per woman
142 United Kingdom 1.55 births per woman
143 Isle of Man 1.54 births per woman
144 Malaysia 1.54 births per woman
145 Trinidad and Tobago 1.54 births per woman
146 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1.53 births per woman
147 Cayman Islands 1.53 births per woman
148 Slovenia 1.52 births per woman
149 Cape Verde 1.51 births per woman
150 Argentina 1.5 births per woman
151 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.49 births per woman
152 French Polynesia 1.49 births per woman
153 Australia 1.48 births per woman
154 Dominica 1.48 births per woman
155 Turkey 1.48 births per woman
156 Grenada 1.47 births per woman
157 Denmark 1.47 births per woman
158 Ireland 1.47 births per woman
159 Croatia 1.46 births per woman
160 Slovakia 1.46 births per woman
161 Turks and Caicos Islands 1.45 births per woman
162 Norway 1.45 births per woman
163 Bhutan 1.45 births per woman
164 Cuba 1.45 births per woman
165 Belgium 1.44 births per woman
166 Mauritius 1.44 births per woman
167 Sint Maarten 1.44 births per woman
168 Azerbaijan 1.43 births per woman
169 Netherlands 1.43 births per woman
170 Sweden 1.43 births per woman
171 Russia 1.42 births per woman
172 Hungary 1.41 births per woman
173 Portugal 1.41 births per woman
174 Bermuda 1.41 births per woman
175 Curaçao 1.4 births per woman
176 North Macedonia 1.4 births per woman
177 Uruguay 1.4 births per woman
178 Romania 1.39 births per woman
179 Saint Lucia 1.39 births per woman
180 Cyprus 1.38 births per woman
181 Bahamas 1.37 births per woman
182 Liechtenstein 1.37 births per woman
183 Czechia 1.36 births per woman
184 Germany 1.36 births per woman
185 Jamaica 1.35 births per woman
186 Albania 1.34 births per woman
187 Costa Rica 1.32 births per woman
188 Austria 1.31 births per woman
189 Switzerland 1.29 births per woman
190 Canada 1.25 births per woman
191 Finland 1.25 births per woman
192 Luxembourg 1.25 births per woman
193 Greece 1.24 births per woman
194 Latvia 1.24 births per woman
195 Belarus 1.22 births per woman

Definition

Fertility rate, specifically total fertility rate, measures the average number of children a woman would bear if she survived through her reproductive years and experienced current age-specific fertility patterns. It serves as a primary indicator for population growth trends, labor force projections, and the long-term sustainability of social systems across 215 tracked countries and territories.

How it is calculated

The indicator is calculated by summing the age-specific fertility rates for women aged 15 to 49 in a specific year. National statistical offices and organizations like the World Bank gather this data using civil registration systems, census results, and household surveys. This method creates a synthetic cohort model that assumes current birth patterns remain constant throughout a woman's life.

Interpretation

A rate of 2.1 is generally defined as the replacement level necessary to maintain a stable population without migration. Values significantly above this mark indicate a growing, younger population, while values below 2.1 suggest a shrinking and aging demographic profile that may eventually require policy interventions or increased immigration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Fertility rate is the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime based on current age-specific birth patterns. It provides a snapshot of reproductive behavior within a population. This metric is essential for governments to forecast future population size, school enrollment needs, and healthcare requirements for various age groups.

According to the latest available data, Chad has the highest fertility rate in the world at 6.028 births per woman. High rates are typically observed in developing nations where factors such as cultural norms, limited access to family planning, and high infant mortality rates influence family size, often leading to rapid population growth.

The latest estimates indicate that Macao has the lowest fertility rate globally at 0.582 births per woman. This extremely low figure is well below the replacement level of 2.1, reflecting trends in many highly urbanized regions where high living costs, delayed marriage, and career prioritization contribute to declining birth counts.

The calculation involves summing the specific birth rates for every five-year age group of women between 15 and 49. This sum is multiplied by five to account for the duration of each age interval. The result represents the total children a woman would have if she experienced current fertility patterns throughout her life.

About this data
Source
World Bank SP.DYN.TFRT.IN
Definition
Total fertility rate: average number of children a woman would bear if she lived to the end of her childbearing years.
Coverage
Data for 195 countries (2024)
Limitations
Data may lag 1-2 years for some countries. Coverage varies by indicator.