Birth rate counts the number of live births in a population over a given period, usually expressed per 1,000 people per year. A country with a birth rate of 30 has 30 births per 1,000 residents annually. The rate is shaped by many factors: access to contraception, education for women, infant mortality, cultural expectations, economic conditions, and government policy. Demographers use birth rates alongside death rates and migration to project population change.

Global birth rates have fallen sharply since the 1960s. The average woman worldwide now has about 2.3 children, down from around 5. The decline is uneven. Sub-Saharan Africa still has some of the highest rates. Europe, East Asia, and parts of Latin America have fallen below replacement level, around 2.1 children per woman. Below that, populations shrink unless immigration compensates. Japan, Italy, and South Korea face aging populations and labor shortages as a result.

Related measures

• Crude birth rate: births per 1,000 people per year.
• Total fertility rate: average children per woman.
• Replacement level: about 2.1 children per woman.
• Natural increase: births minus deaths.

Birth rates are not destiny. They respond to policy and culture. Countries that improve education and healthcare often see rates fall, sometimes faster than expected.