The United Nations (UN) shared fresh data on the birth rate in the world. In 2025, the total fertility rate (TFR) in the world averaged 2.2 children per woman.
Interestingly, in the mid-20th century, this rate exceeded 5 children. According to experts, a steady decline in the global birth rate has been ongoing since the 1960s. Its decline is associated with mass urbanization, an increase in the level of education of the population and expanded access to contraception.
At the same time, the geographic distribution of indicators remains extremely uneven. The highest birth rates, according to the report, are recorded in the countries of Tropical and Southern Africa, Central Asia, as well as in Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan. In these regions, there are 4 to 6 children per woman.
The opposite situation is observed in East Asia. The lowest rates in the world – from 0.72 to 1.11 children per woman – are recorded in Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore. These values are significantly lower than the level necessary for simple reproduction of the population (approximately 2.1).
In Eastern European countries, the coefficients are also below this threshold. Thus, according to the UN, in Russia the TFR is 1.46 children per woman. In Belarus, this figure is 1.22, which is slightly lower than five years ago (1.37). A similar situation is in Latvia (1.35), Lithuania (1.22), Poland (1.31) and Ukraine (1.0).
