Year-over-year change: +3.4%, trend up
5-year change: +5.1%, trend up
Holy See
Crude birth rate: 4.45 per 1,000 population
View MoreNumber of births per 1,000 people
Global15.96per 1,000 population
19502100
2026
Rankings at a glance
Highest 10 · Number of births per 1,000 people (2026)
The Central African Republic is projected to lead the world in number of births per 1,000 people at 44.71 per 1,000 population in 2026, followed by Chad (42.2 per 1,000 population) and Somalia (41.19 per 1,000 population). Niger (40.15 per 1,000 population) and DR Congo (39.8 per 1,000 population) close out the top 5. Next up, Mali (38.77 per 1,000 population) and Angola (36.33 per 1,000 population). Mozambique (36.13 per 1,000 population), Tanzania (33.9 per 1,000 population), and Afghanistan (33.76 per 1,000 population) round out the top ten. Nine of the top ten are in Africa, with four from Central Africa. Among these countries, Chad is projected to see the largest year-over-year change at -2.3%.
Rank changes
How number of births per 1,000 people changed between 2025 and 2026
2025and2026
Historical trends
Key terms
- Total fertility rate (TFR)
- — Average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime at current rates.
- Crude birth rate (CBR)
- — Births per 1,000 people per year.
- Net reproduction rate (NRR)
- — Average number of daughters per woman surviving to reproductive age.
- Replacement level
- — TFR of approximately 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population without migration.
Frequently asked questions
- Which country has the lowest crude birth rate?
- The Holy See is projected to have the lowest crude birth rate at 4.45 per 1,000 population in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- Which country has the highest crude birth rate?
- The Central African Republic is projected to have the highest crude birth rate at 44.71 per 1,000 population in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- What is the global crude birth rate?
- The global crude birth rate is projected to be 15.96 per 1,000 population in 2026, as published by the United Nations in World Population Prospects 2024.
