Fertility in Puerto Rico sits at 0.94 children per woman in 2026, below the replacement level of 2.1. Over the preceding five years it has held broadly steady. About 19 thousand babies are born a year, a crude birth rate of 5.9 per 1,000. Its net reproduction rate sits at 0.45, far below the 1.0 that marks generational replacement. Women are having children later in life, at a mean age of 28.1 years, up from 26.2 in 1980. By 2100, projections see it reaching 1.35 children per woman.
Key statistics for 2026
Fertility rate
0.94 children/woman
Birth rate
5.9 per 1,000 people
Total births
19.1K
Mean age at birth
28.1 years
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.
In 2026, the net reproduction rate of 0.45 means each generation of women falls short of replacing itself: fewer daughters survive to reproductive age than mothers.
Mean age at childbearing has risen slightly from 26.2 in 1980 to 28.1 years in 2026; the sex ratio at birth is 105 males per 100 females, within the natural range.
The bottom line
Puerto Rico's fertility rate has fallen dramatically from 5.2 children per woman in 1950 to 0.94 today, below the 2.1 replacement level.