The 15 countries with the highest birth rates — and the 15 with the lowest
A report using World Bank data highlights the global decline in birth rates, noting that African nations currently hold the highest rates while European and Asian countries report the lowest. The US ranks 135th, with economic factors cited as a primary driver for the downward trend.
Why it matters
Understanding demographic shifts is critical for long-term economic planning, social security sustainability, and labor market projections.
Somalia had the 3rd-highest birth rate in the world in 2024. MDart10/Shutterstock The World Bank Group collected data on birth rates for every country. Countries in Africa saw the highest birth rates, while European and Asian countries saw the lowest. The US ranked 135th worldwide in births per 1,000 people. Roughly 60 years after the post-WWII baby boom ended, the global birth rate is less than half what it was in the 1960s, the World Bank Group reported. But not every country reports similar birth rates . The World Bank Group gathered crude birth rate data in 2024 — that is, the number of live births per 1,000 people in a year — as well as the total fertility rate, which measures the average number of births per woman.
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