Countries by live births
India had the highest live births of 236 countries in 2021, at 23.32 million. Vatican City had the lowest, at 2. The median was 76,903 and the figure for the World was 133.45 million. Source: the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.
Map of countries, 2021
- Under 100K
- 100K to 200K
- 200K to 400K
- 400K to 900K
- 900K and over
- No data
Top 40 countries, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India Estimated | 23,321,853 | -0.7% |
| 2 | China Estimated | 10,461,124 | -11.7% |
| 3 | Nigeria Estimated | 7,330,875 | +1.6% |
| 4 | Pakistan Estimated | 6,797,293 | +1% |
| 5 | Indonesia Estimated | 4,543,453 | -0.8% |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of the Congo Estimated | 4,158,030 | +2.7% |
| 7 | Ethiopia Estimated | 4,015,397 | +1.4% |
| 8 | United States Estimated | 3,681,202 | +1.1% |
| 9 | Bangladesh Estimated | 3,422,642 | +1.4% |
| 10 | Brazil Estimated | 2,672,684 | -1.4% |
| 11 | Egypt Estimated | 2,347,231 | -2.4% |
| 12 | Tanzania Estimated | 2,262,827 | +1.9% |
| 13 | Mexico Estimated | 2,087,487 | -0.6% |
| 14 | Philippines Estimated | 1,821,790 | -4.5% |
| 15 | Uganda Estimated | 1,668,475 | +2% |
| 16 | Sudan Estimated | 1,630,110 | +1% |
| 17 | Kenya Estimated | 1,469,426 | +1.3% |
| 18 | Vietnam Estimated | 1,457,843 | -2.4% |
| 19 | Afghanistan Estimated | 1,453,685 | +1.7% |
| 20 | Russia Estimated | 1,421,809 | -2.5% |
| 21 | Angola Estimated | 1,335,364 | +2% |
| 22 | Yemen Estimated | 1,324,728 | +2.1% |
| 23 | Mozambique Estimated | 1,217,662 | +2.1% |
| 24 | Iran Estimated | 1,210,703 | -1.5% |
| 25 | South Africa Estimated | 1,190,312 | +0.7% |
| 26 | Türkiye Estimated | 1,142,982 | -4.3% |
| 27 | Iraq Estimated | 1,139,167 | +0.8% |
| 28 | Niger Estimated | 1,027,422 | +1.7% |
| 29 | Côte d’Ivoire Estimated | 980,502 | +0.8% |
| 30 | Madagascar Estimated | 977,163 | +1.3% |
| 31 | Algeria Estimated | 957,511 | -3.1% |
| 32 | Cameroon Estimated | 936,082 | +0.8% |
| 33 | Myanmar Estimated | 918,313 | -0.8% |
| 34 | Mali Estimated | 911,381 | +2.5% |
| 35 | Uzbekistan Estimated | 905,756 | +5.2% |
| 36 | Ghana Estimated | 879,105 | +0.5% |
| 37 | Japan Estimated | 810,611 | -3.6% |
| 38 | Germany Estimated | 795,669 | +2.6% |
| 39 | Chad Estimated | 771,674 | +2.4% |
| 40 | Somalia Estimated | 761,567 | +2.7% |
| 41 | Colombia Estimated | 713,944 | -0% |
| 42 | Burkina Faso Estimated | 713,006 | +1.4% |
| 43 | France Estimated | 702,274 | +0.9% |
| 44 | United Kingdom Estimated | 693,027 | +0.8% |
| 45 | Zambia Estimated | 665,154 | +1.4% |
| 46 | Morocco Estimated | 645,134 | -1.2% |
| 47 | Malawi Estimated | 642,826 | +1.1% |
| 48 | Thailand Estimated | 612,870 | -2.7% |
| 49 | Nepal Estimated | 579,915 | -0.7% |
| 50 | Peru Estimated | 543,689 | -0.3% |
| 51 | Argentina Estimated | 529,339 | -0.7% |
| 52 | Senegal Estimated | 511,625 | +1.8% |
| 53 | Saudi Arabia Estimated | 498,172 | -3.3% |
| 54 | Zimbabwe Estimated | 488,642 | +1.6% |
| 55 | Guinea Estimated | 479,631 | +1% |
| 56 | Benin Estimated | 466,510 | +1% |
| 57 | Kazakhstan Estimated | 459,460 | +4.5% |
| 58 | Syria Estimated | 457,916 | +5.4% |
| 59 | Burundi Estimated | 454,572 | +0.5% |
| 60 | Venezuela Estimated | 429,761 | -2.8% |
| 61 | Malaysia Estimated | 424,571 | -6.5% |
| 62 | Italy Estimated | 407,050 | -0.2% |
| 63 | Rwanda Estimated | 392,497 | +0.1% |
| 64 | Guatemala Estimated | 376,735 | -1.5% |
| 65 | Cambodia Estimated | 371,827 | -0.8% |
| 66 | Canada Estimated | 369,789 | +2.1% |
| 67 | North Korea Estimated | 348,026 | -0.6% |
| 68 | Spain Estimated | 340,310 | -0.9% |
| 69 | Poland Estimated | 334,752 | -6.9% |
| 70 | Sri Lanka Estimated | 328,525 | -0.8% |
| 71 | South Sudan Estimated | 322,632 | +2.4% |
| 72 | Ukraine Estimated | 309,089 | -8.4% |
| 73 | Australia Estimated | 304,162 | +3.1% |
| 74 | Togo Estimated | 284,243 | +1% |
| 75 | Ecuador Estimated | 280,840 | -2.3% |
| 76 | Tajikistan Estimated | 276,523 | 0% |
| 77 | Haiti Estimated | 260,695 | -0.7% |
| 78 | Bolivia Estimated | 260,326 | +0.2% |
| 79 | South Korea Estimated | 259,300 | -4% |
| 80 | Papua New Guinea Estimated | 256,149 | 0% |
| 81 | Sierra Leone Estimated | 256,143 | +0.5% |
| 82 | Jordan Estimated | 235,810 | -0.1% |
| 83 | Honduras Estimated | 231,824 | +0.5% |
| 84 | Central African Republic Estimated | 231,200 | +3.4% |
| 85 | Dominican Republic Estimated | 206,574 | -1% |
| 86 | Romania Estimated | 187,162 | -3.1% |
| 87 | Republic of the Congo Estimated | 184,882 | +1.2% |
| 88 | Netherlands Estimated | 182,048 | +6.4% |
| 89 | Israel Estimated | 177,692 | +3.9% |
| 90 | Chile Estimated | 176,463 | -9.8% |
| 91 | Tunisia Estimated | 168,668 | -10.8% |
| 92 | Mauritania Estimated | 167,340 | +1.8% |
| 93 | Liberia Estimated | 165,796 | +0.9% |
| 94 | Turkmenistan Estimated | 165,586 | -1.2% |
| 95 | Laos Estimated | 165,066 | -0.7% |
| 96 | Taiwan Estimated | 155,741 | -3.5% |
| 97 | Kyrgyzstan Estimated | 153,197 | -4.3% |
| 98 | Palestine Estimated | 146,355 | -0% |
| 99 | Paraguay Estimated | 138,291 | -0.5% |
| 100 | Azerbaijan Estimated | 135,569 | -5.2% |
| 101 | Nicaragua Estimated | 133,188 | -0.8% |
| 102 | Libya Estimated | 129,689 | -1.8% |
| 103 | Belgium Estimated | 117,668 | +1.8% |
| 104 | Sweden Estimated | 113,236 | +0.5% |
| 105 | Czechia Estimated | 111,795 | +1.4% |
| 106 | El Salvador Estimated | 101,029 | -0.6% |
| 107 | Cuba Estimated | 98,036 | -5.2% |
| 108 | Eritrea Estimated | 96,545 | +1.6% |
| 109 | Lebanon Estimated | 94,769 | -1.7% |
| 110 | Hungary Estimated | 93,719 | +0.7% |
| 111 | United Arab Emirates Estimated | 90,831 | -8.1% |
| 112 | Switzerland Estimated | 89,352 | +4.9% |
| 113 | Greece Estimated | 86,163 | +1.7% |
| 114 | Austria Estimated | 85,345 | +2.2% |
| 115 | Oman Estimated | 82,526 | -3.2% |
| 116 | Gambia Estimated | 80,297 | +1.2% |
| 117 | Belarus Estimated | 79,787 | -4% |
| 118 | Portugal Estimated | 77,859 | -6.6% |
| 119 | Namibia Estimated | 75,946 | +0.5% |
| 120 | Panama Estimated | 71,269 | -0.7% |
| 121 | Mongolia Estimated | 70,193 | -4.5% |
| 122 | Gabon Estimated | 68,779 | +0.2% |
| 123 | Guinea-Bissau Estimated | 63,759 | +0.8% |
| 124 | Denmark Estimated | 63,475 | +4.1% |
| 125 | Serbia Estimated | 62,470 | -0% |
| 126 | Botswana Estimated | 61,049 | +1.1% |
| 127 | Ireland Estimated | 60,066 | +6.3% |
| 128 | Bulgaria Estimated | 59,000 | +0.3% |
| 129 | New Zealand Estimated | 58,853 | +2.5% |
| 130 | Slovakia Estimated | 56,781 | +0.2% |
| 131 | Lesotho Estimated | 56,302 | -1.7% |
| 132 | Norway Estimated | 56,033 | +5.7% |
| 133 | Equatorial Guinea Estimated | 54,000 | +0.3% |
| 134 | Costa Rica Estimated | 53,349 | -6.8% |
| 135 | Finland Estimated | 49,488 | +6.6% |
| 136 | Georgia Estimated | 48,797 | -1.5% |
| 137 | Hong Kong Estimated | 47,908 | -13.7% |
| 138 | Singapore Estimated | 45,626 | -3.2% |
| 139 | Kuwait Estimated | 44,000 | -15.9% |
| 140 | Croatia Estimated | 35,785 | +7% |
| 141 | Armenia Estimated | 35,635 | +2% |
| 142 | Moldova Estimated | 34,837 | -6% |
| 143 | Uruguay Estimated | 34,209 | -3.3% |
| 144 | Jamaica Estimated | 33,921 | -0.3% |
| 145 | Timor-Leste Estimated | 30,689 | -0.9% |
| 146 | Eswatini Estimated | 30,113 | -0.6% |
| 147 | Albania Estimated | 29,955 | -1% |
| 148 | Qatar Estimated | 26,896 | -4.5% |
| 149 | Bosnia and Herzegovina Estimated | 25,994 | -5.7% |
| 150 | Comoros Estimated | 24,134 | +0.3% |
| 151 | Djibouti Estimated | 23,892 | +0.2% |
| 152 | Lithuania Estimated | 22,978 | -8.8% |
| 153 | Solomon Islands Estimated | 21,123 | +1.5% |
| 154 | Bahrain Estimated | 19,586 | +3.1% |
| 155 | Slovenia Estimated | 19,399 | +4% |
| 156 | North Macedonia Estimated | 19,383 | -3.3% |
| 157 | Puerto Rico Estimated | 18,841 | +0.4% |
| 158 | Latvia Estimated | 17,471 | -0.9% |
| 159 | Guyana Estimated | 17,093 | -0.4% |
| 160 | Fiji Estimated | 17,005 | -1.3% |
| 161 | Trinidad and Tobago Estimated | 16,797 | -2.6% |
| 162 | Cyprus Estimated | 14,802 | +2% |
| 163 | Estonia Estimated | 13,118 | -0.9% |
| 164 | Mauritius Estimated | 12,954 | -2.8% |
| 165 | Réunion Estimated | 12,172 | +2.8% |
| 166 | Suriname Estimated | 10,861 | +0.3% |
| 167 | Mayotte Estimated | 10,503 | +15.4% |
| 168 | Bhutan Estimated | 9,997 | +0.2% |
| 169 | Western Sahara Estimated | 9,161 | -1.2% |
| 170 | Vanuatu Estimated | 8,972 | +0.3% |
| 171 | French Guiana Estimated | 8,167 | +1.5% |
| 172 | Montenegro Estimated | 7,033 | -1.1% |
| 173 | Luxembourg Estimated | 6,581 | +3% |
| 174 | Belize Estimated | 6,539 | -8.8% |
| 175 | Cape Verde Estimated | 6,494 | -4% |
| 176 | Brunei Estimated | 6,351 | -0.6% |
| 177 | São Tomé and Príncipe Estimated | 6,330 | +1.6% |
| 178 | Maldives Estimated | 6,036 | -0.7% |
| 179 | Samoa Estimated | 5,749 | -1.2% |
| 180 | Macao Estimated | 5,204 | -8.8% |
| 181 | Iceland Estimated | 4,819 | +7.4% |
| 182 | Guadeloupe Estimated | 4,753 | -3.3% |
| 183 | Bahamas Estimated | 4,369 | -0.7% |
| 184 | Malta Estimated | 4,345 | -1.1% |
| 185 | New Caledonia Estimated | 4,206 | -0.7% |
| 186 | Martinique Estimated | 3,829 | +0.1% |
| 187 | Kiribati Estimated | 3,455 | +0.2% |
| 188 | French Polynesia Estimated | 3,196 | -2.9% |
| 189 | Barbados Estimated | 3,184 | -0.3% |
| 190 | Guam Estimated | 2,996 | -0.7% |
| 191 | Micronesia Estimated | 2,532 | +0.6% |
| 192 | Tonga Estimated | 2,480 | -0.7% |
| 193 | Saint Lucia Estimated | 2,066 | -1.1% |
| 194 | Seychelles Estimated | 1,764 | -0.8% |
| 195 | Grenada Estimated | 1,417 | -1.2% |
| 196 | Curaçao Estimated | 1,377 | -0.8% |
| 197 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Estimated | 1,300 | -2.2% |
| 198 | Antigua and Barbuda Estimated | 1,121 | +0.2% |
| 199 | Aruba Estimated | 1,042 | -2.9% |
| 200 | U.S. Virgin Islands Estimated | 1,001 | -1.2% |
| 201 | Marshall Islands Estimated | 959 | -4.2% |
| 202 | Cayman Islands Estimated | 882 | +1% |
| 203 | Jersey Estimated | 858 | +0.2% |
| 204 | Greenland Estimated | 816 | -1.1% |
| 205 | American Samoa Estimated | 770 | -1.2% |
| 206 | Dominica Estimated | 756 | -1.9% |
| 207 | Isle of Man Estimated | 718 | -1.6% |
| 208 | Northern Mariana Islands Estimated | 696 | -5.4% |
| 209 | Faroe Islands Estimated | 671 | -0.7% |
| 210 | Saint Kitts and Nevis Estimated | 574 | -2.5% |
| 211 | Andorra Estimated | 535 | +1.1% |
| 212 | Bermuda Estimated | 531 | -5% |
| 213 | Saint Martin Estimated | 526 | -5.9% |
| 214 | Guernsey Estimated | 517 | +3.2% |
| 215 | Turks and Caicos Islands Estimated | 507 | -2.1% |
| 216 | Gibraltar Estimated | 442 | +1.8% |
| 217 | Sint Maarten Estimated | 394 | -1.5% |
| 218 | Liechtenstein Estimated | 367 | +5.2% |
| 219 | Monaco Estimated | 335 | -9.7% |
| 220 | Nauru Estimated | 325 | -2.7% |
| 221 | British Virgin Islands Estimated | 317 | +4.3% |
| 222 | Caribbean Netherlands Estimated | 270 | -3.6% |
| 223 | Tuvalu Estimated | 248 | -3.1% |
| 224 | Cook Islands Estimated | 214 | -6.6% |
| 225 | San Marino Estimated | 212 | 0% |
| 226 | Palau Estimated | 202 | -2.4% |
| 227 | Anguilla Estimated | 152 | -0.7% |
| 228 | Wallis and Futuna Estimated | 102 | -8.1% |
| 229 | Montserrat Estimated | 56 | -3.4% |
| 230 | Saint Barthélemy Estimated | 51 | -5.6% |
| 231 | Falkland Islands Estimated | 43 | -2.3% |
| 232 | Tokelau Estimated | 42 | +2.4% |
| 233 | Saint Helena Estimated | 41 | -4.7% |
| 234 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon Estimated | 34 | -5.6% |
| 235 | Niue Estimated | 25 | 0% |
| 236 | Vatican City Estimated | 2 | 0% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Live births to mothers resident in the area during the year.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births). Modelled estimate. https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz. Retrieved 2026-10-12. CC BY 3.0 IGO.Citation styles
APA 7
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births) (Countries by live births, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz
MLA 9
World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births), Countries by live births, 2021. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 13 Dec. 2024, https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/births/countries?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2024. World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births). Countries by live births, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/births/countries?period=2021.
Harvard
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024) World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births), Countries by live births, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/births/countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{united_countries_by_live_births_2021,
author = {{United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division}},
title = {{World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births): Countries by live births, 2021}},
year = {2024},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/births/countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births). Modelled estimate. https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel\%20Files/1\_Indicator\%20(Standard)/CSV\_FILES/WPP2024\_Demographic\_Indicators\_Medium.csv.gz. Retrieved 2026-10-12. CC BY 3.0 IGO.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division
TI - World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births): Countries by live births, 2021
PY - 2024
DA - 2024/12/13
PB - United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division
DB - Invokely
UR - https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/births/countries?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/births/countries?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births). Modelled estimate. https://population.un.org/wpp/assets/Excel%20Files/1_Indicator%20(Standard)/CSV_FILES/WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz. Retrieved 2026-10-12. CC BY 3.0 IGO.
ER -
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Which country has the highest live births?
India, with 23.32 million in 2021, according to the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.
Which country has the lowest live births?
Vatican City, with 2 in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Births during the calendar year, estimates 1950 to 2023 (Births). Retrieved 2026-10-12.
Live births: other rankings
- EU countries
- Regions of Czechia (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Greece (NUTS 2)
- Municipalities in Lleida province
- NUTS 3 areas of Estonia
- NUTS 3 areas of Latvia