A global index of countries with the highest fertility rates, measured by total births per woman, using the latest data from the UN.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) denotes the total number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her reproductive life.
A lower or declining fertility rate should be welcomed as it reflects the empowerment of women in society and in relationships, improvements in education, strengthened women’s rights and increased well-being and status of children.
Having fewer children is also unquestionably better for the environment with recent analysis confirming that having one fewer child reduces a parent’s carbon footprint by 58.6 tonnes of CO2 a year.
10 lowest & highest fertility rates
Lowest fertility rates
- South Korea
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Malta
- Macao
- Ukraine
- Spain
- San Marino
- Moldova
- Italy
Key findings
- The global average fertility rate is 2.4 children per woman.
- Niger has the highest fertility rate with an average of 6.9 children per woman.
- South Korea has the lowest fertility rate of just 1.0.
- Africa has the highest fertility rate of 4.4.
- Europe has the lowest fertility rate of 1.6, followed by North America (1.9), Latin America and the Caribbean (2.0), Asia (2.1) and Oceania (2.3).
- A declining fertility rate does not mean a shrinking population as life expectancy continues to increase.
- 77 countries have a fertility rate below 2.0.
- The 20 highest fertility rates are all in Africa.
- More economically developed countries – including most of Europe, Singapore, Japan South Korea, the USA, New Zealand and Australia – have lower fertility rates.
Countries with the highest fertility rates – complete ranking
The table below ranks the world’s countries by fertility rate using Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which measures the average number of children per woman.
Some countries may be missing due to inadequate data.
Rank | Country | Fertility Rate |
---|---|---|
1 | Niger | 6.9 |
2 | Somalia | 6.1 |
3 | DR Congo | 5.9 |
4 | Mali | 5.9 |
5 | Chad | 5.7 |
6 | Angola | 5.5 |
7 | Burundi | 5.4 |
8 | Nigeria | 5.4 |
9 | Burkina Faso | 5.2 |
10 | The Gambia | 5.2 |
11 | Uganda | 5.0 |
12 | Mozambique | 4.9 |
13 | Tanzania | 4.9 |
14 | Benin | 4.8 |
15 | Central African Rep. | 4.7 |
16 | Guinea | 4.7 |
17 | South Sudan | 4.7 |
18 | Cameroon | 4.6 |
19 | Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 4.6 |
20 | Mauritania | 4.6 |
21 | Senegal | 4.6 |
22 | Zambia | 4.6 |
23 | Afghanistan | 4.5 |
24 | Equatorial Guinea | 4.5 |
25 | Guinea-Bissau | 4.5 |
26 | Congo | 4.4 |
27 | Solomon Islands | 4.4 |
28 | Sudan | 4.4 |
29 | Liberia | 4.3 |
30 | Sao Tome & Principe | 4.3 |
31 | Sierra Leone | 4.3 |
32 | Togo | 4.3 |
33 | Comoros | 4.2 |
34 | Ethiopia | 4.2 |
35 | Malawi | 4.2 |
36 | Eritrea | 4.1 |
37 | Madagascar | 4.1 |
38 | Gabon | 4.0 |
39 | Marshall Islands | 4.0 |
40 | Rwanda | 4.0 |
41 | Timor-Leste | 4.0 |
42 | Ghana | 3.9 |
43 | Samoa | 3.9 |
44 | Vanuatu | 3.8 |
45 | Yemen | 3.8 |
46 | Iraq | 3.7 |
47 | Kiribati | 3.6 |
48 | Papua New Guinea | 3.6 |
49 | Tajikistan | 3.6 |
50 | Tonga | 3.6 |
51 | West Bank & Gaza | 3.6 |
52 | Zimbabwe | 3.6 |
53 | Kenya | 3.5 |
54 | Pakistan | 3.5 |
55 | Namibia | 3.4 |
56 | Egyp | 3.3 |
57 | Kyrgyzstan | 3.3 |
58 | Israel | 3.1 |
59 | Lesotho | 3.1 |
60 | Micronesia | 3.1 |
61 | Algeria | 3.0 |
62 | Eswatini | 3.0 |
63 | Botswana | 2.9 |
64 | Guatemala | 2.9 |
65 | Haiti | 2.9 |
66 | Mongolia | 2.9 |
67 | Oman | 2.9 |
68 | Fiji | 2.8 |
69 | Jordan | 2.8 |
70 | Kazakhstan | 2.8 |
71 | Syria | 2.8 |
72 | Turkmenistan | 2.8 |
73 | Bolivia | 2.7 |
74 | Djibouti | 2.7 |
75 | Lao PDR | 2.7 |
76 | Philippines | 2.6 |
77 | Cambodia | 2.5 |
78 | Guyana | 2.5 |
79 | Honduras | 2.5 |
80 | Panama | 2.5 |
81 | Ecuador | 2.4 |
82 | Morocco | 2.4 |
83 | Nicaragua | 2.4 |
84 | Paraguay | 2.4 |
85 | Seychelles | 2.4 |
86 | South Africa | 2.4 |
87 | Suriname | 2.4 |
88 | Uzbekistan | 2.4 |
89 | Argentina | 2.3 |
90 | Belize | 2.3 |
91 | Cabo Verde | 2.3 |
92 | Dominican Rep. | 2.3 |
93 | Guam | 2.3 |
94 | Indonesia | 2.3 |
95 | Peru | 2.3 |
96 | Saudi Arabia | 2.3 |
97 | Venezuela | 2.3 |
98 | India | 2.2 |
99 | Libya | 2.2 |
100 | Myanmar | 2.2 |
101 | Palau | 2.2 |
102 | Sri Lanka | 2.2 |
103 | Tunisia | 2.2 |
104 | Georgia | 2.1 |
105 | Grenada | 2.1 |
106 | Iran | 2.1 |
107 | Kuwait | 2.1 |
108 | Lebanon | 2.1 |
109 | Mexico | 2.1 |
110 | St. Kitts & Nevis | 2.1 |
111 | Turkey | 2.1 |
112 | Antigua & Barbuda | 2.0 |
113 | Bahrain | 2.0 |
114 | Bangladesh | 2.0 |
115 | Bhutan | 2.0 |
116 | El Salvador | 2.0 |
117 | Greenland | 2.0 |
118 | Jamaica | 2.0 |
119 | Kosovo | 2.0 |
120 | Malaysia | 2.0 |
121 | Uruguay | 2.0 |
122 | Vietnam | 2.0 |
123 | Aruba | 1.9 |
124 | Dominica | 1.9 |
125 | France | 1.9 |
126 | North Korea | 1.9 |
127 | Maldives | 1.9 |
128 | Nepal | 1.9 |
129 | Qatar | 1.9 |
130 | St. Vincent & the Gren. | 1.9 |
131 | Armenia | 1.8 |
132 | The Bahamas | 1.8 |
133 | Brunei Darussalam | 1.8 |
134 | Colombia | 1.8 |
135 | Costa Rica | 1.8 |
136 | Ireland | 1.8 |
137 | Romania | 1.8 |
138 | Sweden | 1.8 |
139 | Australia | 1.7 |
140 | Azerbaijan | 1.7 |
141 | Brazil | 1.7 |
142 | China | 1.7 |
143 | Curacao | 1.7 |
144 | Czech Rep. | 1.7 |
145 | Denmark | 1.7 |
146 | Estonia | 1.7 |
147 | Iceland | 1.7 |
148 | Montenegro | 1.7 |
149 | New Zealand | 1.7 |
150 | Trinidad & Tobago | 1.7 |
151 | UK | 1.7 |
152 | USA | 1.7 |
153 | Albania | 1.6 |
154 | Barbados | 1.6 |
155 | Belgium | 1.6 |
156 | Bermuda | 1.6 |
157 | Bulgaria | 1.6 |
158 | Chile | 1.6 |
159 | Cuba | 1.6 |
160 | Germany | 1.6 |
161 | Hungary | 1.6 |
162 | Latvia | 1.6 |
163 | Liechtenstein | 1.6 |
164 | Lithuania | 1.6 |
165 | Netherlands | 1.6 |
166 | Norway | 1.6 |
167 | Russia | 1.6 |
168 | Slovenia | 1.6 |
169 | Austria | 1.5 |
170 | Canada | 1.5 |
171 | Croatia | 1.5 |
172 | North Macedonia | 1.5 |
173 | Poland | 1.5 |
174 | Serbia | 1.5 |
175 | Slovakia | 1.5 |
176 | Switzerland | 1.5 |
177 | Thailand | 1.5 |
178 | Belarus | 1.4 |
179 | Finland | 1.4 |
180 | Greece | 1.4 |
181 | Japan | 1.4 |
182 | Luxembourg | 1.4 |
183 | Mauritius | 1.4 |
184 | Portugal | 1.4 |
185 | St. Lucia | 1.4 |
186 | UAE | 1.4 |
187 | Andorra | 1.3 |
188 | Bosnia & Herz. | 1.3 |
189 | Cyprus | 1.3 |
190 | Italy | 1.3 |
191 | Moldova | 1.3 |
192 | San Marino | 1.3 |
193 | Spain | 1.3 |
194 | Ukraine | 1.3 |
195 | Macao | 1.2 |
196 | Malta | 1.2 |
197 | Hong Kong | 1.1 |
198 | Singapore | 1.1 |
199 | South Korea | 1.0 |