Fertility rate by country since 1960
From six children per woman to fewer than one: the global fall in fertility, country by country.
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What the data shows
- In 2024, Nigeria ranks #1 with 4.38, ahead of India (1.96) and United States (1.63).
- The top spot changed hands 4 times, first to China in 1963, most recently to Nigeria in 1969.
- Biggest climber: United States, from #6 in 1960 to #3 in 2024.
About this chart
The total fertility rate is the number of children a woman would have over her life at current birth rates. Around 2.1 keeps a population stable without migration. Almost every country in this chart started far above that and most have now dropped below it.
South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world, well under one child per woman. Nigeria remains high but is falling too.
The data
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.DYN.TFRT.IN), births per woman. Retrieved November 3, 2026.
| Date | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 🇮🇳 India | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 🇨🇳 China | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇮🇹 Italy | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 6.36 | 5.92 | 3.65 | 6.05 | 4.45 | 2.00 | 2.40 | 5.99 |
| 1961 | 6.35 | 5.94 | 3.62 | 6.02 | 3.86 | 1.96 | 2.44 | 5.80 |
| 1962 | 6.36 | 5.95 | 3.46 | 5.98 | 6.08 | 1.98 | 2.46 | 5.56 |
| 1963 | 6.35 | 5.97 | 3.32 | 5.93 | 7.51 | 2.00 | 2.51 | 5.33 |
| 1964 | 6.36 | 5.98 | 3.19 | 5.82 | 6.67 | 2.05 | 2.66 | 5.07 |
| 1965 | 6.37 | 5.94 | 2.91 | 5.68 | 6.61 | 2.14 | 2.60 | 4.89 |
| 1966 | 6.39 | 5.88 | 2.72 | 5.52 | 6.31 | 1.58 | 2.58 | 4.78 |
| 1967 | 6.40 | 5.83 | 2.56 | 5.34 | 5.81 | 2.23 | 2.50 | 4.62 |
| 1968 | 6.42 | 5.76 | 2.46 | 5.17 | 6.51 | 2.13 | 2.46 | 4.51 |
| 1969 | 6.44 | 5.68 | 2.46 | 5.04 | 6.17 | 2.13 | 2.47 | 4.45 |
| 1970 | 6.47 | 5.62 | 2.48 | 4.93 | 6.08 | 2.13 | 2.38 | 4.53 |
| 1971 | 6.53 | 5.57 | 2.27 | 4.84 | 5.52 | 2.16 | 2.40 | 4.54 |
| 1972 | 6.58 | 5.48 | 2.01 | 4.74 | 5.11 | 2.14 | 2.35 | 4.12 |
| 1973 | 6.63 | 5.40 | 1.88 | 4.64 | 4.73 | 2.14 | 2.30 | 4.07 |
| 1974 | 6.70 | 5.33 | 1.83 | 4.50 | 4.17 | 2.05 | 2.28 | 3.77 |
| 1975 | 6.77 | 5.20 | 1.77 | 4.42 | 3.57 | 1.91 | 2.17 | 3.43 |
| 1976 | 6.81 | 5.13 | 1.74 | 4.34 | 3.23 | 1.85 | 2.04 | 3.00 |
| 1977 | 6.86 | 5.01 | 1.79 | 4.27 | 2.84 | 1.80 | 1.93 | 2.99 |
| 1978 | 6.92 | 4.89 | 1.76 | 4.20 | 2.72 | 1.79 | 1.84 | 2.64 |
| 1979 | 6.89 | 4.81 | 1.81 | 4.12 | 2.75 | 1.77 | 1.73 | 2.90 |
| 1980 | 6.85 | 4.78 | 1.84 | 4.04 | 2.74 | 1.75 | 1.64 | 2.82 |
| 1981 | 6.82 | 4.70 | 1.81 | 3.94 | 2.79 | 1.74 | 1.58 | 2.57 |
| 1982 | 6.80 | 4.62 | 1.83 | 3.84 | 2.97 | 1.77 | 1.56 | 2.39 |
| 1983 | 6.78 | 4.57 | 1.80 | 3.72 | 2.56 | 1.80 | 1.51 | 2.06 |
| 1984 | 6.70 | 4.52 | 1.81 | 3.60 | 2.61 | 1.81 | 1.46 | 1.74 |
| 1985 | 6.62 | 4.43 | 1.84 | 3.48 | 2.63 | 1.76 | 1.42 | 1.66 |
| 1986 | 6.56 | 4.40 | 1.84 | 3.36 | 2.72 | 1.72 | 1.35 | 1.58 |
| 1987 | 6.50 | 4.31 | 1.87 | 3.23 | 2.76 | 1.69 | 1.33 | 1.53 |
| 1988 | 6.50 | 4.22 | 1.93 | 3.11 | 2.54 | 1.66 | 1.36 | 1.55 |
| 1989 | 6.49 | 4.13 | 2.01 | 3.01 | 2.52 | 1.57 | 1.33 | 1.56 |
| 1990 | 6.46 | 4.04 | 2.08 | 2.90 | 2.51 | 1.54 | 1.33 | 1.57 |
| 1991 | 6.43 | 3.96 | 2.06 | 2.81 | 1.93 | 1.53 | 1.30 | 1.71 |
| 1992 | 6.39 | 3.88 | 2.05 | 2.71 | 1.78 | 1.50 | 1.30 | 1.76 |
| 1993 | 6.35 | 3.80 | 2.02 | 2.66 | 1.69 | 1.46 | 1.25 | 1.65 |
| 1994 | 6.32 | 3.72 | 2.00 | 2.60 | 1.63 | 1.50 | 1.21 | 1.66 |
| 1995 | 6.27 | 3.65 | 1.98 | 2.57 | 1.59 | 1.42 | 1.19 | 1.63 |
| 1996 | 6.22 | 3.58 | 1.98 | 2.51 | 1.55 | 1.43 | 1.20 | 1.57 |
| 1997 | 6.14 | 3.51 | 1.97 | 2.47 | 1.53 | 1.39 | 1.22 | 1.54 |
| 1998 | 6.07 | 3.45 | 2.00 | 2.42 | 1.52 | 1.38 | 1.22 | 1.46 |
| 1999 | 6.08 | 3.38 | 2.01 | 2.33 | 1.53 | 1.34 | 1.23 | 1.43 |
| 2000 | 6.12 | 3.35 | 2.06 | 2.25 | 1.63 | 1.36 | 1.26 | 1.48 |
| 2001 | 6.13 | 3.30 | 2.03 | 2.16 | 1.56 | 1.33 | 1.25 | 1.31 |
| 2002 | 6.12 | 3.22 | 2.02 | 2.08 | 1.57 | 1.32 | 1.27 | 1.18 |
| 2003 | 6.10 | 3.12 | 2.05 | 2.01 | 1.57 | 1.29 | 1.29 | 1.19 |
| 2004 | 6.09 | 3.05 | 2.05 | 1.97 | 1.60 | 1.29 | 1.34 | 1.16 |
| 2005 | 6.06 | 2.96 | 2.06 | 1.94 | 1.62 | 1.26 | 1.33 | 1.08 |
| 2006 | 6.05 | 2.87 | 2.11 | 1.90 | 1.64 | 1.32 | 1.37 | 1.13 |
| 2007 | 6.03 | 2.77 | 2.12 | 1.85 | 1.67 | 1.34 | 1.39 | 1.26 |
| 2008 | 6.02 | 2.71 | 2.07 | 1.81 | 1.70 | 1.37 | 1.44 | 1.19 |
| 2009 | 5.99 | 2.67 | 2.00 | 1.80 | 1.71 | 1.37 | 1.44 | 1.15 |
| 2010 | 5.95 | 2.60 | 1.93 | 1.79 | 1.69 | 1.39 | 1.44 | 1.23 |
| 2011 | 5.89 | 2.53 | 1.89 | 1.78 | 1.67 | 1.39 | 1.42 | 1.24 |
| 2012 | 5.80 | 2.47 | 1.88 | 1.77 | 1.80 | 1.41 | 1.42 | 1.30 |
| 2013 | 5.69 | 2.40 | 1.86 | 1.76 | 1.71 | 1.43 | 1.39 | 1.19 |
| 2014 | 5.62 | 2.29 | 1.86 | 1.77 | 1.77 | 1.42 | 1.38 | 1.21 |
| 2015 | 5.50 | 2.29 | 1.84 | 1.78 | 1.67 | 1.45 | 1.36 | 1.24 |
| 2016 | 5.34 | 2.28 | 1.82 | 1.73 | 1.77 | 1.44 | 1.36 | 1.17 |
| 2017 | 5.18 | 2.19 | 1.77 | 1.74 | 1.79 | 1.43 | 1.34 | 1.05 |
| 2018 | 5.02 | 2.18 | 1.73 | 1.74 | 1.54 | 1.42 | 1.31 | 0.98 |
| 2019 | 4.86 | 2.12 | 1.71 | 1.71 | 1.50 | 1.36 | 1.27 | 0.92 |
| 2020 | 4.70 | 2.05 | 1.64 | 1.65 | 1.24 | 1.33 | 1.24 | 0.84 |
| 2021 | 4.64 | 2.01 | 1.66 | 1.64 | 1.12 | 1.30 | 1.25 | 0.81 |
| 2022 | 4.55 | 1.99 | 1.66 | 1.63 | 1.03 | 1.26 | 1.24 | 0.78 |
| 2023 | 4.48 | 1.98 | 1.62 | 1.62 | 1.00 | 1.20 | 1.21 | 0.72 |
| 2024 | 4.38 | 1.96 | 1.63 | 1.61 | 1.01 | 1.15 | 1.18 | 0.75 |
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Frequently asked questions
What is the replacement fertility rate?
About 2.1 births per woman in countries with low child mortality. The extra 0.1 covers children who don't survive to adulthood and the slightly higher number of boys born. Below that level, a population eventually shrinks unless migration makes up the difference.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.DYN.TFRT.IN), births per woman. Retrieved November 3, 2026. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.
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