Top 10 · society
Top 10 countries by fertility rate
Average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime. World Bank / UN data, latest year 2024, covering 194 countries. Ranked biggest first.
The top 10
1st of 194 · 2024
Chad6.03 children/woman
- 2ndSomalia6.01 children/woman
- 3rdDR Congo5.98 children/woman
- 4thCentral African Republic5.95 children/woman
- 5thNiger5.94 children/woman
- 6thMali5.51 children/woman
- 7thAngola5.05 children/woman
- 8thBurundi4.79 children/woman
- 9thAfghanistan4.76 children/woman
- 10thMozambique4.69 children/woman
The other end · bottom 5 of 194
- 190thChina1.01 children/woman
- 191stMalta1.01 children/woman
- 192ndUkraine0.99 children/woman
- 193rdSingapore0.97 children/woman
- 194thSouth Korea0.75 children/woman
Where the big countries land
- 123rdUnited States1.63 children/woman
- 98thIndia1.96 children/woman
- 166thGermany1.36 children/woman
- 124thBrazil1.61 children/woman
Common questions
Questions people ask about fertility rate
Which country ranks highest for fertility rate?
Chad ranks 1st of 194 countries at 6.03 children/woman (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN.
Which countries are in the top 10 for fertility rate?
The top 10 are Chad, Somalia, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Niger, Mali, Angola, Burundi, Afghanistan and Mozambique — computed from World Bank / UN data, latest year 2024.
Where does the United States rank in fertility rate?
The United States ranks 123rd of 194 countries at 1.63 children/woman (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN.
What is the median fertility rate worldwide?
Across the 194 countries covered, the median is 1.96 children/woman. Values run from 6.03 children/woman (Chad, ranked 1st) to 0.75 children/woman (South Korea, ranked 194th).
Is fertility rate higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 45 European countries is 1.4 children/woman, against 1.63 children/woman in the United States — it is higher in the US. Source: World Bank / UN.
Which country ranks lowest for fertility rate?
South Korea sits at the other end of the list: 0.75 children/woman ranks 194th of 194 (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN.
Keep ranking
Keep exploring
More on society
- Foreign-born populationShare of residents born in another country.
- Median ageAge that splits the population in half.
- Birth rateLive births per 1,000 residents per year.
- Marriage rateMarriages per 1,000 residents per year.
- Divorce rateDivorces per 1,000 residents per year.
- Internet accessShare of people (countries) or households (states) online.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Chad leads on fertility rate — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data?
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →