Year-over-year change: -0.4%, trend down
5-year change: -1.4%, trend down
India
Total births: 23.0 million
View MoreLive births during the year, both sexes
World Total132.5million
19502100
2026
Rankings at a glance
Highest 10 · Total number of births (2026)
India is projected to top the global rankings for total number of births, recording 23.0 million in 2026, followed by China (8.6 million) and Nigeria (7.7 million). Pakistan (6.9 million) and DR Congo (4.6 million) complete the top 5. Indonesia (4.4 million) and Ethiopia (4.2 million) follow close behind. The United States (3.7 million), Bangladesh (3.4 million), and Brazil (2.5 million) round out the top ten. The spread across the top ten is substantial: India would have 9.2× the figure recorded by Brazil (2.5 million). Five of the top ten are in Asia, with three from Southern Asia.
Rank changes
How total number of births changed between 2021 and 2026
2021and2026
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 most births?
- India is projected to have the most births at 23.0 million births in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- Which country has the fewest births?
- The Holy See is projected to have the fewest births at 2 births in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- What is the global births?
- The global births is projected to be 132.5 million births in 2026, as published by the United Nations in World Population Prospects 2024.
