Fertility in South Africa, 2021

South Africa
2021
Total fertility rate: 2.25
Births per 1,000 women, by age of mother
2021 1991, 30 years earlier
Hover a column for the exact rate. Adding up all the rates (× 5 years ÷ 1,000) gives the total fertility rate.
Total fertility rate, 1950–2100 · click to pick a year

Year

-5 -1   2021  +1 +5

Country

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

The total fertility rate of South Africa was 2.25 children per woman in 2021 — above the replacement level of about 2.1. Births were most frequent among women aged 20-24 (113 per 1,000 women in that age group), and the average mother was 28.3 years old. In total, 1,190,312 babies were born. Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024.

Total fertility rate
2.25
Births
1,190,312
Births per 1,000 people
19.4
Mean age of mothers
28.3
Births to mothers aged 15–19
10.9%
Net reproduction rate
1.03
Boys per 100 girls at birth
104.0
Population
61,502,603
The net reproduction rate counts only daughters who survive to their mothers' age: below 1, each generation of women is smaller than the one before.
Mother's ageBirths per 1,000 womenShare of total fertilityBirths
10-141.00.2%2,774
15-1952.511.7%129,700
20-24113.225.1%296,042
25-29107.123.8%304,647
30-3486.519.2%242,826
35-3962.413.9%159,415
40-4424.55.4%50,081
45-492.80.6%4,757
50-540.00.0%68