Fertility Rate
Fertility Rate by country
Commentary
Notable countries
The highest fertility rates are concentrated in Africa, led by Chad at 5.94, followed closely by Somalia (5.91), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5.9), the Central African Republic (5.81), and Niger (5.79). At the other end, South Korea has the lowest rate at 0.75, with Taiwan (0.86), Singapore (0.97), Ukraine (1.0), and China (1.02) also among the lowest. A notable surprise is that Afghanistan, at 4.66, is the only non-African country in the top 10, while the bottom 10 is dominated by Asia and Europe, with Chile the only South American entry.
Regional trends
Africa stands out clearly with the highest continental average at 3.727, far above the global mean of 2.405. Oceania is next at 2.804, while Asia sits near the middle at 2.151. South America (1.877), North America (1.747), and especially Europe (1.442) are all below the world average, showing that lower fertility is concentrated in the Americas and Europe.
Data source
The figures come from the 2024 UN World Population Prospects and are measured in total fertility rate (TFR). The dataset covers 196 countries. Values are country-level estimates, so comparisons should be read as broad demographic indicators rather than direct measures of family preferences alone.
Interpretation
A higher TFR means women are having more children on average, which can support population growth and a younger age structure; a lower TFR points to slower growth, population aging, or potential decline. Because the stated direction is 'higher is better,' countries at the top score better on this metric, while those at the bottom score worse. Still, very high and very low fertility can each bring policy challenges, so the data suggest a world split between high-fertility countries concentrated in Africa and very low-fertility countries concentrated in Asia and Europe.