Fertility Rate by Country, Historical Data 1960-2024

About This Dataset

Births per woman in twelve large countries at six points between 1960 and 2024, using World Bank data. It shows how far the decline has spread: countries that averaged five or six children per woman in 1960 are now at or below two, and several are less than half the replacement level of 2.1.

✨ AI Insight

Every country here has a lower rate in 2024 than in 1960, and nine of the twelve are now below the 2.1 births per woman needed to hold a population steady without migration. South Korea has fallen furthest, from 5.99 to 0.75 - the largest drop in the group in both absolute and proportional terms - and China is next lowest at 1.01, down from 4.45. India crossed below replacement to 1.96. Nigeria remains the highest at 4.38, but even that is down from 6.36. Germany has moved least since 1980, from 1.44 to 1.36 births per woman, a change of 0.08 across 44 years.

Source: World Bank Open Data

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Nigeria leads with 4 in 2024.

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South Korea declined most: -87.5% from 1960 to 2024 (5.99 → 0.75).

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Average value in 2024: 2 · median: 2.

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1960 recorded the highest combined total across all categories.

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Gap in 2024: Nigeria is 5.8× larger than South Korea.