One in three of the world’s babies is born in Africa
share of the world’s births, 2023
In 2023, 35% of all births on Earth: 46M out of 131M. In 1950, 12%, less than in Europe (13%). Now Europe accounts for 4.7% of the world’s babies.
More
Of all babies born on Earth in a year, how many were born in African countries and how many in European ones (Russia included). In Africa fertility falls more slowly and the number of young women keeps growing; in Europe the opposite.
Blue is Africa’s share of the world’s births, orange Europe’s; one scale. The ring marks the year Africa overtook Europe.
- Births in Africa thousand births a year
1950: 10.9M → 2023: 46M
- Births in Europe thousand births a year
1950: 12.2M → 2023: 6.15M
- Births in the world thousand births a year
1950: 91.8M → 2023: 131M
The sum of UN estimates for the region’s countries divided by the sum over all countries and territories, 1950–2023. Regions follow the UN classification: 58 countries and territories in Africa, 50 in Europe.
Many African countries do not register every birth; the UN estimates them from censuses and surveys.
A question for this picture
How will schools, labour markets and migration change when half of the world’s babies are born in Africa?