Countries in South America by fertility rate
Births per woman: how many children a woman would have if the birth rates of the year held all her life. 12 countries in South America, highest first. World Bank, 2024
Median country
1.89
half above, half below| # | Country | Births per woman | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bolivia | 2.52 | South America |
| 2 |  Paraguay | 2.42 | South America |
| 3 |  Guyana | 2.40 | South America |
| 4 |  Suriname | 2.23 | South America |
| 5 |  Venezuela | 2.08 | South America |
| 6 |  Peru | 1.97 | South America |
| 7 |  Ecuador | 1.81 | South America |
| 8 |  Colombia | 1.63 | South America |
| 9 |  Brazil | 1.61 | South America |
| 10 |  Argentina | 1.50 | South America |
| 11 |  Uruguay | 1.40 | South America |
| 12 |  Chile | 1.14 | South America |
Questions
- Which country in South America has the highest fertility rate?
- Bolivia has the highest fertility rate in South America: 2.52 births per woman (2024). Next come Paraguay (2.42 births per woman) and Guyana (2.40 births per woman).
- Which country in South America has the lowest fertility rate?
- Chile, with 1.14 births per woman (2024).
- What is the typical fertility rate of a country in South America?
- The median of the 12 countries in South America is 1.89 births per woman: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
- Where do the figures come from?
- Births per woman: how many children a woman would have if the birth rates of the year held all her life. Source: World Bank, 2024. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.
Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.