Total Fertility Rate by Country in 1978

-5 year -1 year 1978 +1 year +5 year

In the year 1978, the world had a total fertility rate of 3.7871 (births per woman).

The country with the highest total fertility rate was 🇾🇪Yemen with a rate of 8.5007 births per woman. Closely followed by 🇷🇼Rwanda with a fertility rate of 8.1575 births per woman, and 🇴🇲Oman with 7.8181 child born per woman.

The country with the lowest annual fertility rate was 🇻🇦Holy See with 1.0 births per woman. Followed by 🇧🇱Saint Barthélemy with a fertility rate of 1.3618 births per woman, and 🇯🇪Jersey with 1.3889 child born per woman.

The geographic region with the highest total fertility rate was Africa with a rate of 6.6468 births per woman. Closely followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with a fertility rate of 4.3527 births per woman, and Asia with 3.966 child born per woman.

When devided into sub-subregions we can see that Eastern Africa had the highest total fertility rate of 7.1248 births per woman. Closely followed by Western Africa with a fertility rate of 6.9684 births per woman, and Middle Africa with 6.6295 child born per woman.

If we devide the global population into income groups we can see that Low-income countries has the highest total fertility rate of 6.6633 children born per woman. While the lowest total fertility rate is recorded by High-income countries with a TFR of only 1.9988.

Similar Population Metrics for 1978

Countries with the Highest Total Fertility Rate in 1978

Rank	Country	Total Fertility Rate (births per woman)
1	🇾🇪Yemen	8.5007
2	🇷🇼Rwanda	8.1575
3	🇴🇲Oman	7.8181
4	🇱🇾Libya	7.7891
5	🇨🇮Côte d'Ivoire	7.6692
6	🇰🇪Kenya	7.6664
7	🇳🇪Niger	7.6619
8	🇦🇫Afghanistan	7.5993
9	🇯🇴Jordan	7.594
10	🇲🇭Marshall Islands	7.5797
11	🇾🇹Mayotte	7.4804
12	🇦🇴Angola	7.467
13	🇲🇼Malawi	7.4342
14	🇸🇾Syrian Arab Republic	7.3451
15	🇵🇸State of Palestine	7.3298
16	🇸🇸South Sudan	7.3291
17	🇲🇱Mali	7.3186
18	🇿🇲Zambia	7.2938
19	🇸🇳Senegal	7.2794
20	🇸🇦Saudi Arabia	7.2632
21	🇧🇮Burundi	7.2586
22	🇲🇻Maldives	7.2293
23	🇪🇹Ethiopia	7.2291
24	🇩🇿Algeria	7.211
25	🇺🇬Uganda	7.1631
26	🇰🇲Comoros	7.1549
27	🇧🇫Burkina Faso	7.1478
28	🇸🇴Somalia	7.1298
29	🇹🇿United Republic of Tanzania	7.0602
30	🇹🇬Togo	6.9827
31	🇳🇬Nigeria	6.921
32	🇲🇬Madagascar	6.9039
33	🇹🇩Chad	6.891
34	🇱🇷Liberia	6.8838
35	🇸🇧Solomon Islands	6.8713
36	🇧🇯Benin	6.8236
37	🇵🇰Pakistan	6.7831
38	🇲🇷Mauritania	6.7269
39	🇮🇶Iraq	6.7257
40	🇸🇩Sudan	6.7201
41	🇿🇼Zimbabwe	6.6576
42	🇫🇲Micronesia (Fed. States of)	6.6499
43	🇸🇿Eswatini	6.6468
44	🇭🇳Honduras	6.6341
45	🇼🇫Wallis and Futuna Islands	6.6242
46	🇲🇳Mongolia	6.6198
47	🇪🇷Eritrea	6.6072
48	🇲🇿Mozambique	6.5919
49	🇸🇱Sierra Leone	6.5913
50	🇩🇯Djibouti	6.5855
51	🇧🇹Bhutan	6.5843
52	🇬🇭Ghana	6.5644
53	🇨🇻Cabo Verde	6.5641
54	🇨🇲Cameroon	6.5446
55	🇧🇩Bangladesh	6.5091
56	🇧🇼Botswana	6.4793
57	🇸🇹Sao Tome and Principe	6.4733
58	🇨🇩Democratic Republic of the Congo	6.463
59	🇬🇳Guinea	6.4401
60	🇬🇲Gambia	6.4212
61	🇹🇯Tajikistan	6.4003
62	🇳🇦Namibia	6.384
63	🇮🇷Iran (Islamic Republic of)	6.3442
64	🇬🇼Guinea-Bissau	6.3196
65	🇱🇦Lao People's Democratic Republic	6.2978
66	🇬🇹Guatemala	6.2611
67	🇨🇬Congo	6.2098
68	🇳🇮Nicaragua	6.1639
69	🇦🇪United Arab Emirates	6.1505
70	🇼🇸Samoa	6.1462
71	🇧🇿Belize	6.1089
72	🇪🇭Western Sahara	6.0551
73	🇨🇫Central African Republic	6.0393
74	🇲🇦Morocco	5.9103
75	🇵🇬Papua New Guinea	5.879
76	🇱🇸Lesotho	5.823
77	🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea	5.804
78	🇻🇺Vanuatu	5.7685
79	🇹🇴Tonga	5.6836
80	🇳🇵Nepal	5.6758
81	🇭🇹Haiti	5.6419
82	🇪🇬Egypt	5.6294
83	🇹🇲Turkmenistan	5.6101
84	🇧🇴Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	5.6096
85	🇶🇦Qatar	5.5767
86	🇬🇦Gabon	5.5681
87	🇰🇼Kuwait	5.5208
88	🇹🇳Tunisia	5.4011
89	🇵🇭Philippines	5.3927
90	🇸🇻El Salvador	5.3566
91	🇵🇪Peru	5.3047
92	🇺🇿Uzbekistan	5.2807
93	🇲🇽Mexico	5.202
94	🇧🇭Bahrain	5.1196
95	🇻🇳Viet Nam	5.1038
96	🇹🇱Timor-Leste	5.094
97	🇵🇾Paraguay	5.0365
98	🇪🇨Ecuador	4.9892
99	🇲🇲Myanmar	4.9853
100	🇰🇮Kiribati	4.9686
101	🇮🇳India	4.8884
102	🇦🇸American Samoa	4.8727
103	🇿🇦South Africa	4.8534
104	🇽🇰Kosovo (under UNSC res. 1244)	4.831
105	🇱🇨Saint Lucia	4.8249
106	🇮🇩Indonesia	4.7317
107	🇳🇺Niue	4.7173
108	🇹🇷Türkiye	4.6912
109	🇩🇴Dominican Republic	4.6437
110	🇨🇰Cook Islands	4.5548
111	🇻🇨Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	4.5542
112	🇰🇬Kyrgyzstan	4.5257
113	🇹🇨Turks and Caicos Islands	4.4849
114	🇲🇵Northern Mariana Islands	4.4344
115	🇻🇪Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	4.3971
116	🇧🇳Brunei Darussalam	4.3887
117	🇲🇫Saint Martin (French part)	4.3186
118	🇧🇷Brazil	4.1951
119	🇲🇾Malaysia	4.1787
120	🇱🇧Lebanon	4.1757
121	🇹🇰Tokelau	4.1572
122	🇫🇯Fiji	4.0975
123	🇸🇷Suriname	4.0805
124	🇵🇫French Polynesia	4.0449
125	🇨🇴Colombia	3.9976
126	🇦🇱Albania	3.9962
127	🇵🇦Panama	3.9839
128	🇬🇾Guyana	3.9669
129	🇸🇨Seychelles	3.9191
130	🇳🇨New Caledonia	3.8747
131	🇳🇷Nauru	3.8427
132	🇯🇲Jamaica	3.8381
133	🇦🇿Azerbaijan	3.8157
134	🇱🇰Sri Lanka	3.8103
135	🇵🇼Palau	3.7399
136	🇨🇷Costa Rica	3.6619
137	🇹🇭Thailand	3.6172
138	🇹🇻Tuvalu	3.59
139	🇦🇮Anguilla	3.5455
140	🇬🇫French Guiana	3.3704
141	🇦🇷Argentina	3.3593
142	🇬🇩Grenada	3.3515
143	🇰🇭Cambodia	3.3381
144	🇻🇮United States Virgin Islands	3.3029
145	🇰🇳Saint Kitts and Nevis	3.2861
146	🇷🇪Réunion	3.2823
147	🇮🇱Israel	3.2454
148	🇮🇪Ireland	3.2106
149	🇰🇿Kazakhstan	3.1557
150	🇹🇹Trinidad and Tobago	3.1291
151	🇻🇬British Virgin Islands	3.1133
152	🇬🇺Guam	3.1051
153	🇧🇸Bahamas	3.0521
154	🇲🇺Mauritius	3.0115
155	🇩🇲Dominica	2.9549
156	🇨🇱Chile	2.8919
157	🇸🇭Saint Helena	2.8583
158	🇵🇷Puerto Rico	2.8473
159	🇺🇾Uruguay	2.8292
160	🇰🇵Dem. People's Republic of Korea	2.7934
161	🇧🇶Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	2.7934
162	🇨🇳China	2.716
163	🇰🇷Republic of Korea	2.6995
164	🇸🇽Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	2.6832
165	🇹🇼China, Taiwan Province of China	2.6799
166	🇦🇲Armenia	2.6169
167	🇫🇴Faroe Islands	2.6053
168	🇬🇵Guadeloupe	2.5843
169	🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda	2.5733
170	🇪🇸Spain	2.539
171	🇷🇴Romania	2.5225
172	🇬🇮Gibraltar	2.4858
173	🇸🇰Slovakia	2.4711
174	🇵🇹Portugal	2.4505
175	🇲🇸Montserrat	2.4367
176	🇬🇪Georgia	2.4167
177	🇲🇰North Macedonia	2.4158
178	🇫🇰Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	2.3869
179	🇲🇩Republic of Moldova	2.3867
180	🇨🇼Curaçao	2.3805
181	🇬🇷Greece	2.3713
182	🇰🇾Cayman Islands	2.3659
183	🇲🇶Martinique	2.3595
184	🇮🇸Iceland	2.3516
185	🇨🇿Czechia	2.326
186	🇦🇼Aruba	2.3118
187	🇲🇨Monaco	2.2839
188	🇲🇪Montenegro	2.2469
189	🇵🇱Poland	2.2317
190	🇭🇰China, Hong Kong SAR	2.2047
191	🇬🇱Greenland	2.1959
192	🇸🇮Slovenia	2.1953
193	🇧🇬Bulgaria	2.1491
194	🇵🇲Saint Pierre and Miquelon	2.1239
195	🇱🇹Lithuania	2.0813
196	🇧🇦Bosnia and Herzegovina	2.0807
197	🇨🇾Cyprus	2.079
198	🇳🇿New Zealand	2.0767
199	🇭🇺Hungary	2.0765
200	🇲🇹Malta	2.0642
201	🇧🇾Belarus	2.0328
202	🇪🇪Estonia	2.0185
203	🇮🇲Isle of Man	1.9877
204	🇺🇦Ukraine	1.9694
205	🇦🇺Australia	1.9607
206	🇭🇷Croatia	1.9549
207	🇷🇺Russian Federation	1.9532
208	🇱🇮Liechtenstein	1.9003
209	🇷🇸Serbia	1.8892
210	🇨🇺Cuba	1.8841
211	🇦🇩Andorra	1.8837
212	🇱🇻Latvia	1.8475
213	🇮🇹Italy	1.8415
214	🇧🇧Barbados	1.8393
215	🇫🇷France	1.8302
216	🇺🇸United States of America	1.8043
217	🇧🇲Bermuda	1.7982
218	🇸🇬Singapore	1.787
219	🇯🇵Japan	1.7857
220	🇸🇲San Marino	1.7712
221	🇳🇴Norway	1.7708
222	🇬🇧United Kingdom	1.7526
223	🇧🇪Belgium	1.7103
224	🇨🇦Canada	1.68
225	🇩🇰Denmark	1.6608
226	🇫🇮Finland	1.6418
227	🇸🇪Sweden	1.6006
228	🇦🇹Austria	1.5973
229	🇳🇱Netherlands	1.5816
230	🇬🇬Guernsey	1.566
231	🇨🇭Switzerland	1.5062
232	🇱🇺Luxembourg	1.4896
233	🇩🇪Germany	1.4894
234	🇲🇴China, Macao SAR	1.4249
235	🇯🇪Jersey	1.3889
236	🇧🇱Saint Barthélemy	1.3618
237	🇻🇦Holy See	1.0

Regions with the Highest Total Fertility Rate in 1978

Rank	Region	Total Fertility Rate (births per woman)
1	Africa	6.6468
2	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.3527
3	Asia	3.966
4	Americas	3.2126
5	Oceania	2.6862
6	Europe	1.962
7	Northern America	1.7919

Sub-regions with the Highest Total Fertility Rate in 1978

Rank	Sub-region	Total Fertility Rate (births per woman)
1	Eastern Africa	7.1248
2	Western Africa	6.9684
3	Middle Africa	6.6295
4	Northern Africa	6.1256
5	Melanesia	5.5742
6	Western Asia	5.3185
7	Central America	5.3049
8	Southern Asia	5.2818
9	Polynesia	5.1283
10	Southern Africa	5.0118
11	Micronesia	4.7162
12	South-Eastern Asia	4.6642
13	Central Asia	4.4468
14	South America	4.1413
15	Caribbean	3.432
16	Eastern Asia	2.6134
17	Southern Europe	2.2044
18	Eastern Europe	2.0638
19	Australia/New Zealand	1.9829
20	Northern Europe	1.7998
21	Western Europe	1.6298

Income Groups with the Highest Total Fertility Rate in 1978

Rank	Income Group	Total Fertility Rate (births per woman)
1	Low-income countries	6.6633
2	Low-and-Lower-middle-income countries	5.5395
3	Lower-middle-income countries	5.358
4	No income group available	4.4042
5	Low-and-middle-income countries	4.3295
6	Middle-income countries	4.1687
7	Upper-middle-income countries	3.2639
8	High-and-upper-middle-income countries	2.803
9	High-income countries	1.9988

How is Total Fertility Rate calculated?

A population's fertility rate is most commonly calculated as Total Total Fertility Rate or TFR for short. The Total Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is a standard demographic indicator that is used internationally to estimate the average number of children born per woman in a population. It is calculated by adding up all the age-specific fertility rates, multiplying this sum by X (the width of the age-group interval), and then dividing by 1,000.

Population Total Fertility Rate Formula

Total Total Fertility Rate = (Sum of ASFR x 5 ) / 1000

Data Information

Data found on this page is based on the medium fertility variant of the United Nations Revision of World Population Prospects 2024.

Data Published: 2024-07-11

Data Sources

The United Nations - Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Population Division)

UN Revision of World Population Prospects 2024

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