Regional variations.
Fertility trends vary significantly across different regions of the world. Currently, the Sub-Saharan Africa region has the highest total fertility rates in the world. Despite some decline in recent years, the average number of children a woman was 4.3 children in 2023, higher than other regions. Total fertility rates in Europe and Central Asia, and in North America , have been among the lowest globally since 1960, and it was 1.6 children on average, in 2023. In other regions, total fertility rates were high in the 1960s but have sharply declined since. Fertility decline in East Asia and Pacific was drastic, and the fertility rate was lowest (1.3 children on average) in 2023.