2026 country ranking

Countries With the Lowest Fertility Rates in 2026

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: Macao
Rank 10: China
Top-20 concentration: Asia

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.

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
9	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
12	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
15	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
19	United Arab Emirates	Asia	1.21	31.6 years
20	Italy	Europe	1.22	48.6 years
21	Lithuania	Europe	1.22	42.6 years
22	Belarus	Europe	1.23	41.8 years
23	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
28	Poland	Europe	1.31	43.0 years
29	Albania	Europe	1.32	37.8 years
30	Canada	Northern America	1.33	40.8 years
31	Jamaica	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.33	33.3 years
32	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.34	39.1 years
33	Austria	Europe	1.34	43.9 years
34	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	Europe	1.37	39.1 years
38	Guernsey	Europe	1.37	44.5 years
39	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.37	35.1 years
40	Estonia	Europe	1.38	43.2 years
41	Jersey	Europe	1.38	43.9 years
42	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
47	Norway	Europe	1.42	40.1 years
48	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.42	42.0 years
49	Bhutan	Asia	1.43	31.0 years
50	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
52	Netherlands	Europe	1.44	41.5 years
53	Sweden	Europe	1.44	40.4 years
54	Cuba	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.45	42.5 years
55	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.45	34.9 years
56	Montserrat	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.45	41.8 years
57	Switzerland	Europe	1.45	43.2 years
58	Dominica	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.46	36.6 years
59	Germany	Europe	1.46	45.7 years
60	Croatia	Europe	1.47	45.5 years
61	Czechia	Europe	1.47	44.3 years
62	French Polynesia	Oceania	1.47	36.7 years
63	North Macedonia	Europe	1.47	41.4 years
64	Russia	Europe	1.47	40.7 years
65	Cabo Verde	Africa	1.49	29.5 years
66	Iceland	Europe	1.49	36.6 years
67	Kuwait	Asia	1.49	34.8 years
68	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	1.50	46.1 years
69	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.50	39.1 years
70	Hungary	Europe	1.50	44.2 years
71	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
73	Serbia	Europe	1.51	44.7 years
74	Denmark	Europe	1.52	41.3 years
75	Kosovo	Europe	1.52	33.2 years
76	Malaysia	Asia	1.52	31.4 years
77	Portugal	Europe	1.52	47.2 years
78	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.52	38.2 years
79	Isle of Man	Europe	1.53	46.3 years
80	Maldives	Asia	1.53	33.4 years
81	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
84	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
88	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
91	United States	Northern America	1.62	38.7 years
92	Australia	Oceania	1.64	38.5 years
93	France	Europe	1.64	42.5 years
94	New Zealand	Oceania	1.64	38.0 years
95	Saint Helena	Africa	1.64	51.0 years
96	Azerbaijan	Asia	1.66	34.1 years
97	Iran	Asia	1.66	34.5 years
98	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.69	43.4 years
99	Qatar	Asia	1.69	33.4 years
100	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.70	39.7 years
101	Brunei	Asia	1.70	33.2 years
102	Armenia	Asia	1.71	37.2 years
103	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
107	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
111	Georgia	Asia	1.78	37.6 years
112	Montenegro	Europe	1.79	40.4 years
113	Tunisia	Africa	1.79	33.4 years
114	Palau	Oceania	1.84	38.9 years
115	Mexico	Northern America	1.85	30.0 years
116	Philippines	Asia	1.86	26.6 years
117	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
122	New Caledonia	Oceania	1.93	34.8 years
123	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.93	30.5 years
124	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
129	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
132	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
135	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
140	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.16	26.3 years
141	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	2.17	28.7 years
142	South Africa	Africa	2.17	28.9 years
143	Faroe Islands	Europe	2.19	37.1 years
144	Lebanon	Asia	2.19	29.0 years
145	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
149	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
157	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
162	Jordan	Asia	2.54	24.9 years
163	Mongolia	Asia	2.54	27.0 years
164	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
170	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
175	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
187	Namibia	Africa	3.13	21.5 years
188	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
207	Samoa	Oceania	3.70	19.8 years
208	Comoros	Africa	3.71	20.7 years
209	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
213	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
236	Somalia	Africa	5.80	15.6 years
237	Chad	Africa	5.84	15.7 years

Interpretation

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 the 2026 data

Macao leads with 0.70, while China is tenth at 1.03. Among the top 20 entries, Asia appears most often, with 8 countries or areas.

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

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.

Questions about this ranking

Which country ranks first for births per woman?

Macao ranks first in this comparison with 0.70. The ranking uses the UN WPP 2024 medium scenario for 2026.

Is 2026 observed population data?

No. In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections.

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.