Fertility in South Africa, 2026

South Africa
2026
Total fertility rate: 2.17
Births per 1,000 women, by age of mother
2026 1996, 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   2026  +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 is projected at 2.17 children per woman in 2026 — above the replacement level of about 2.1. Births are projected to be most frequent among women aged 20-24 (111 per 1,000 women in that age group), and the average mother would be 28.3 years old. In total, 1,167,803 babies are projected to be born. Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024 (medium-variant projection).

Total fertility rate
2.17
Births
1,167,803
Births per 1,000 people
17.8
Mean age of mothers
28.3
Births to mothers aged 15–19
12.1%
Net reproduction rate
1.00
Boys per 100 girls at birth
104.0
Population
65,453,084
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
10-141.10.2%2,741
15-1951.912.0%140,841
20-24110.725.5%284,002
25-29102.223.6%275,067
30-3479.718.4%228,970
35-3960.614.0%168,359
40-4424.75.7%61,643
45-493.10.7%6,090
50-540.10.0%89