Fertility rate
The average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime at current birth rates.
Drives future population, consumer demand and the size of the workforce. Falling fertility with a large working-age group is the demographic dividend.
Modelled estimates for most countries between censuses.
Fertility: highest in DRC, lowest in Mauritius
Fertility rate, births per woman. Latest year available, 2024. 16 of 16 countries have data.
Ranked: fertilityiWhy it mattersDrives future population, consumer demand and the size of the workforce. Falling fertility with a large working-age group is the demographic dividend.
Click a country to highlight it.
Over time
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Fertility rate against income per person
Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.
Table
The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.| Rank | Country | Value | Year | Five-year change | Grade | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRC | 6.0 | 2024 | down 4% since 2019 | A | |
| 2 | Angola | 5.0 | 2024 | down 7% since 2019 | A | |
| 3 | Mozambique | 4.7 | 2024 | down 6% since 2019 | A | |
| 4 | Tanzania | 4.5 | 2024 | down 7% since 2019 | A | |
| 5 | Zambia | 4.0 | 2024 | down 9% since 2019 | A | |
| 6 | Madagascar | 3.9 | 2024 | down 7% since 2019 | A | |
| 7 | Comoros | 3.8 | 2024 | down 8% since 2019 | A | |
| 8 | Zimbabwe | 3.7 | 2024 | down 2% since 2019 | A | |
| 9 | Malawi | 3.6 | 2024 | down 9% since 2019 | A | |
| 10 | Namibia | 3.2 | 2024 | down 6% since 2019 | A | |
| 11 | Eswatini | 2.7 | 2024 | down 7% since 2019 | A | |
| 12 | Botswana | 2.7 | 2024 | down 7% since 2019 | A | |
| 13 | Lesotho | 2.7 | 2024 | down 9% since 2019 | A | |
| 14 | South Africa | 2.2 | 2024 | down 3% since 2019 | A | |
| 15 | Seychelles | 1.9 | 2024 | down 20% since 2019 | A | |
| 16 | Mauritius | 1.4 | 2024 | up 2% since 2019 | A |