Countries With the Lowest Fertility Rates in 2026

2026 medium projection

Compare the average number of births per woman implied by current age-specific fertility rates in the UN medium scenario.

Countries and areas: 237
Highest-ranked: Macao0.70
Rank 10: China1.03
End of table: Chad5.84

Estimate or projection?

The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.

Complete countries with the lowest fertility rates in 2026 ranking

Select any country to inspect its full age-by-sex structure and projections.

Download CSV

Countries With the Lowest Fertility Rates in 2026
Rank	Country or area	Region	Births per woman	Median age
1	Macao	Asia	0.70	40.3 years
2	Hong Kong	Asia	0.75	47.9 years
3	South Korea	Asia	0.76	46.2 years
4	Saint Barthélemy	Latin America and the Caribbean	0.84	39.1 years
5	Taiwan	Asia	0.86	45.4 years
6	Puerto Rico	Latin America and the Caribbean	0.94	46.2 years
7	Singapore	Asia	0.97	36.8 years
8	Ukraine	Europe	1.00	41.8 years
8	Vatican City	Europe	1.00	56.2 years
10	China	Asia	1.03	40.6 years
11	British Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.07	39.1 years
11	Curaçao	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.07	39.0 years
13	Andorra	Europe	1.11	44.2 years
14	Chile	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.12	37.4 years
14	Malta	Europe	1.12	41.5 years
16	San Marino	Europe	1.17	49.1 years
17	Thailand	Asia	1.19	41.0 years
18	Mauritius	Africa	1.21	38.3 years
18	United Arab Emirates	Asia	1.21	31.6 years
20	Italy	Europe	1.22	48.6 years
20	Lithuania	Europe	1.22	42.6 years
22	Belarus	Europe	1.23	41.8 years
22	Japan	Asia	1.23	50.2 years
24	Spain	Europe	1.24	46.3 years
25	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Northern America	1.28	47.6 years
26	Finland	Europe	1.30	43.4 years
27	Costa Rica	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.31	35.7 years
27	Poland	Europe	1.31	43.0 years
29	Albania	Europe	1.32	37.8 years
30	Canada	Northern America	1.33	40.8 years
30	Jamaica	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.33	33.3 years
32	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.34	39.1 years
32	Austria	Europe	1.34	43.9 years
32	Greece	Europe	1.34	47.1 years
35	Latvia	Europe	1.35	43.8 years
36	Bahamas	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.36	35.7 years
37	Cyprus	Asia	1.37	39.1 years
37	Guernsey	Europe	1.37	44.5 years
37	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.37	35.1 years
40	Estonia	Europe	1.38	43.2 years
40	Jersey	Europe	1.38	43.9 years
40	Uruguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.38	36.7 years
43	Wallis and Futuna Islands	Oceania	1.39	38.6 years
44	Belgium	Europe	1.40	42.1 years
45	Luxembourg	Europe	1.41	39.7 years
46	Bermuda	Northern America	1.42	46.4 years
46	Norway	Europe	1.42	40.1 years
46	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.42	42.0 years
49	Bhutan	Asia	1.43	31.0 years
49	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.43	39.6 years
51	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.44	39.7 years
51	Netherlands	Europe	1.44	41.5 years
51	Sweden	Europe	1.44	40.4 years
54	Cuba	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.45	42.5 years
54	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.45	34.9 years
54	Montserrat	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.45	41.8 years
54	Switzerland	Europe	1.45	43.2 years
58	Dominica	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.46	36.6 years
58	Germany	Europe	1.46	45.7 years
60	Croatia	Europe	1.47	45.5 years
60	Czechia	Europe	1.47	44.3 years
60	French Polynesia	Oceania	1.47	36.7 years
60	North Macedonia	Europe	1.47	41.4 years
60	Russia	Europe	1.47	40.7 years
65	Cabo Verde	Africa	1.49	29.5 years
65	Iceland	Europe	1.49	36.6 years
65	Kuwait	Asia	1.49	34.8 years
68	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	1.50	46.1 years
68	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.50	39.1 years
68	Hungary	Europe	1.50	44.2 years
68	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.50	36.5 years
72	Argentina	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.51	33.3 years
72	Serbia	Europe	1.51	44.7 years
74	Denmark	Europe	1.52	41.3 years
74	Kosovo	Europe	1.52	33.2 years
74	Malaysia	Asia	1.52	31.4 years
74	Portugal	Europe	1.52	47.2 years
74	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.52	38.2 years
79	Isle of Man	Europe	1.53	46.3 years
79	Maldives	Asia	1.53	33.4 years
79	United Kingdom	Europe	1.53	40.2 years
82	Liechtenstein	Europe	1.54	44.7 years
83	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.57	36.7 years
83	Slovakia	Europe	1.57	42.8 years
85	Slovenia	Europe	1.58	45.0 years
86	Brazil	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.59	35.2 years
87	Colombia	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.60	33.0 years
87	Ireland	Europe	1.60	39.2 years
89	Aruba	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.61	41.7 years
90	Turkey	Asia	1.62	33.9 years
90	United States	Northern America	1.62	38.7 years
92	Australia	Oceania	1.64	38.5 years
92	France	Europe	1.64	42.5 years
92	New Zealand	Oceania	1.64	38.0 years
92	Saint Helena	Africa	1.64	51.0 years
96	Azerbaijan	Asia	1.66	34.1 years
96	Iran	Asia	1.66	34.5 years
98	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.69	43.4 years
98	Qatar	Asia	1.69	33.4 years
100	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.70	39.7 years
100	Brunei	Asia	1.70	33.2 years
102	Armenia	Asia	1.71	37.2 years
102	Romania	Europe	1.71	43.5 years
104	Moldova	Europe	1.72	39.1 years
105	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.73	34.7 years
106	Bulgaria	Europe	1.74	45.0 years
106	El Salvador	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.74	28.4 years
108	North Korea	Asia	1.75	36.8 years
109	Bahrain	Asia	1.77	33.4 years
110	Ecuador	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.78	29.7 years
110	Georgia	Asia	1.78	37.6 years
112	Montenegro	Europe	1.79	40.4 years
112	Tunisia	Africa	1.79	33.4 years
114	Palau	Oceania	1.84	38.9 years
115	Mexico	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.85	30.0 years
116	Philippines	Asia	1.86	26.6 years
116	Vietnam	Asia	1.86	33.9 years
118	Gibraltar	Europe	1.88	38.8 years
119	Greenland	Northern America	1.90	35.5 years
120	Nepal	Asia	1.92	25.7 years
121	India	Asia	1.93	29.2 years
121	New Caledonia	Oceania	1.93	34.8 years
121	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.93	30.5 years
121	Sri Lanka	Asia	1.93	33.6 years
125	Martinique	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.95	50.2 years
126	Cook Islands	Oceania	1.97	38.1 years
127	Belize	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.99	27.3 years
128	Guadeloupe	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.04	47.4 years
128	Venezuela	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.04	29.5 years
130	United States Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.05	44.9 years
131	Myanmar	Asia	2.06	30.4 years
131	Seychelles	Africa	2.06	34.6 years
133	Panama	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.07	30.6 years
134	Indonesia	Asia	2.08	30.7 years
134	Monaco	Europe	2.08	53.1 years
136	Bangladesh	Asia	2.09	26.3 years
137	Réunion	Africa	2.12	38.4 years
138	Western Sahara	Africa	2.13	32.8 years
139	Morocco	Africa	2.16	30.1 years
139	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.16	26.3 years
141	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.17	28.7 years
141	South Africa	Africa	2.17	28.9 years
143	Faroe Islands	Europe	2.19	37.1 years
143	Lebanon	Asia	2.19	29.0 years
143	Suriname	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.19	28.9 years
146	Libya	Africa	2.21	28.0 years
147	American Samoa	Oceania	2.22	29.1 years
148	Fiji	Oceania	2.23	28.3 years
148	Guatemala	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.23	23.8 years
150	Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	2.24	38.8 years
151	Saudi Arabia	Asia	2.27	29.7 years
152	Laos	Asia	2.33	25.3 years
153	Guyana	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.35	26.5 years
154	Paraguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.37	27.3 years
155	Honduras	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.42	24.6 years
156	Niue	Oceania	2.44	35.1 years
156	Oman	Asia	2.44	29.8 years
158	Bolivia	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.47	25.5 years
159	Cambodia	Asia	2.49	26.4 years
160	Timor-Leste	Asia	2.50	22.1 years
161	Djibouti	Africa	2.54	25.2 years
161	Jordan	Asia	2.54	24.9 years
161	Mongolia	Asia	2.54	27.0 years
161	Tokelau	Oceania	2.54	27.6 years
165	Haiti	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.55	24.3 years
166	Saint Martin (French part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.59	43.9 years
167	Turkmenistan	Asia	2.60	27.3 years
168	Lesotho	Africa	2.61	22.1 years
169	Algeria	Africa	2.62	28.8 years
169	Syria	Asia	2.62	23.8 years
171	Botswana	Africa	2.63	23.7 years
172	Eswatini	Africa	2.64	22.7 years
173	Micronesia	Oceania	2.67	23.5 years
174	Egypt	Africa	2.68	24.7 years
174	Guam	Oceania	2.68	31.6 years
176	Kyrgyzstan	Asia	2.72	25.5 years
177	Israel	Asia	2.73	29.3 years
178	Marshall Islands	Oceania	2.77	20.5 years
179	Kazakhstan	Asia	2.92	29.7 years
180	Tajikistan	Asia	2.96	22.4 years
181	Papua New Guinea	Oceania	2.99	23.0 years
182	Tonga	Oceania	3.04	21.0 years
183	Kiribati	Oceania	3.06	23.0 years
184	Kenya	Africa	3.07	20.3 years
185	Tuvalu	Oceania	3.10	24.1 years
186	Iraq	Asia	3.13	21.1 years
186	Namibia	Africa	3.13	21.5 years
186	State of Palestine	Asia	3.13	20.3 years
189	Nauru	Oceania	3.20	20.2 years
190	French Guiana	Latin America and the Caribbean	3.25	24.9 years
191	Ghana	Africa	3.26	21.6 years
192	Uzbekistan	Asia	3.40	27.0 years
193	Solomon Islands	Oceania	3.42	20.9 years
194	Pakistan	Asia	3.44	20.8 years
195	Malawi	Africa	3.45	18.4 years
196	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	3.47	19.7 years
197	Gabon	Africa	3.49	21.6 years
198	Vanuatu	Oceania	3.50	20.3 years
199	Sierra Leone	Africa	3.53	19.9 years
200	Rwanda	Africa	3.54	20.2 years
201	Eritrea	Africa	3.55	19.5 years
202	Zimbabwe	Africa	3.57	18.3 years
203	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	3.62	19.6 years
204	South Sudan	Africa	3.63	19.0 years
205	Senegal	Africa	3.66	19.8 years
206	Gambia	Africa	3.70	18.8 years
206	Samoa	Oceania	3.70	19.8 years
208	Comoros	Africa	3.71	20.7 years
208	Liberia	Africa	3.71	19.0 years
210	Ethiopia	Africa	3.72	19.3 years
211	Madagascar	Africa	3.78	19.4 years
212	Burkina Faso	Africa	3.91	18.0 years
212	Zambia	Africa	3.91	18.2 years
214	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	3.95	20.9 years
215	Guinea	Africa	3.96	18.5 years
216	Uganda	Africa	3.97	17.1 years
217	Republic of the Congo	Africa	3.99	18.7 years
218	Togo	Africa	4.01	19.2 years
219	Ivory Coast	Africa	4.10	18.5 years
220	Cameroon	Africa	4.12	18.2 years
221	Sudan	Africa	4.13	18.8 years
222	Nigeria	Africa	4.20	18.3 years
223	Yemen	Asia	4.33	18.5 years
224	Benin	Africa	4.34	18.2 years
225	Tanzania	Africa	4.41	17.6 years
226	Mayotte	Africa	4.43	17.3 years
227	Mauritania	Africa	4.48	17.5 years
228	Mozambique	Africa	4.54	16.6 years
229	Afghanistan	Asia	4.56	17.4 years
230	Burundi	Africa	4.57	16.6 years
231	Angola	Africa	4.89	16.7 years
232	Mali	Africa	5.33	15.9 years
233	Niger	Africa	5.64	15.7 years
234	Central African Republic	Africa	5.69	14.6 years
235	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	5.80	15.9 years
235	Somalia	Africa	5.80	15.6 years
237	Chad	Africa	5.84	15.7 years

What this ranking measures—and what it does not

Definition

The total fertility rate is the number of children a hypothetical woman would have if she experienced the year’s age-specific fertility rates throughout her reproductive life.

Why it matters

Sustained low fertility narrows the base of a population pyramid and contributes to ageing and eventual decline, but age structure and migration determine the timing.

Read with care

A rate below the approximate replacement level does not mean immediate decline. Replacement varies with mortality, and the 2.1 shorthand assumes low mortality and no migration.

What stands out in this comparison

Macao leads with 0.70, while China is at rank 10 with 1.03. At the other end of the complete table, Chad has 5.84.

Those positions describe this particular indicator, definition, and reference period. They do not imply that every country near the top has the same population pyramid or demographic path. Open the profiles to compare the underlying cohorts.

First five

Macao — rank 1, 0.70; median age 40.3 years.
Hong Kong — rank 2, 0.75; median age 47.9 years.
South Korea — rank 3, 0.76; median age 46.2 years.
Saint Barthélemy — rank 4, 0.84; median age 39.1 years.
Taiwan — rank 5, 0.86; median age 45.4 years.

Other end of the table

Chad — rank 237, 5.84; median age 15.7 years.
Somalia — rank 235, 5.80; median age 15.6 years.
Democratic Republic of the Congo — rank 235, 5.80; median age 15.9 years.
Central African Republic — rank 234, 5.69; median age 14.6 years.
Niger — rank 233, 5.64; median age 15.7 years.

Questions about this ranking

Which country or area ranks first for births per woman?

Macao ranks first in this comparison with 0.70. The table uses 2026 medium projection from UN World Population Prospects 2024.

Which values are estimates and which are projections?

In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections. The peak-year table labels historical and projected results separately.

Why might another source show a different rank?

Sources can use different reference dates, revisions, country definitions, estimation methods, or projection scenarios. Close ranks can also change after revisions.