World ranking of countries by number of births in 2025. Greece at the bottom of the list

Over the past half century The world has experienced a quiet but radical demographic revolution: the total fertility rate has fallen by about 5 children per woman in 1970 to about 2 children in 2025. This means that humanity is very quickly moving from explosive growth to a phase of aging and stagnation.

Where are children born today?

According to estimates UNby the end of 2025 at India it will take about 17% of all births in the world – almost 23.1 million childrenthat is, approximately twice as much as in China. Chinadespite one of the lowest birth rates (on average about 1 child per woman versus more than 6 in the 1970s), remains in second place with approximately 8.7 million births in 2025.

Nigeria is already giving birth to more children than all of Europe: in 2025 it is expected about 7.6 million newbornsand by 2050 the figure could rise to 8.1 million. Nigeria is then projected to overtake the United States and become third most populous country in the world.

At the same time Europe is experiencing a deep demographic crisis: the total number of births in 2025 will be about 6.3 million children with a population of almost 750 million people – that is, less 1% of the population per year.

Greece, Russia, Ukraine: birth versus death

Greece. According to European statistics and national estimates, births in Greece in 2023 less than 80 thousand childrenwhile the number of deaths was almost twice as high – order 140 thousand That is, annual natural decline population is about 60 thousand people. In other words, the country is losing one major city every few years, even without taking into account migration.

On a global scale, Greece’s contribution to world demography is minimal: its share of total births is estimated at less than a fraction of a percent, and it is not among the leading countries in terms of either the absolute number of births or the rate of population growth.

Russia. According to official data, in 2024, about 1.22 million childrenbut at the same time the order was recorded 1.82 million deaths. This gives natural decline approximately 600 thousand people in just one year.

Even if migration partially smoothes out the failure, the population structure is rapidly aging, and the demographic “bottom” has not yet been passed.

Ukraine. According to Ukrainian statistics, in 2024 approximately 177 thousand childrenwhile the number of deaths exceeded 495 thousand That is, one year accounts for about minus 318 thousand people of natural declineand against the backdrop of war and mass emigration, this is only part of the real loss of human potential, since the real data on losses is strictly classified.

For comparison: in terms of birth rates, Ukraine has already shifted to the “lower league” of the world rankings, comparable in absolute number of births to small countries in Latin America and Africa, but with a significantly older age structure.

Post-Soviet countries

For other countries in the region – Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan – the latest open data also records structural demographic shift: a decrease in the number of births, an aging population and, in some cases, a steady natural decline. However, there are still no reports for them that are as comparable for 2024–2025 as for Russia, Ukraine and Greece, so it is more correct to talk about a trend rather than exact values.

Bottom line. The picture is simple and unpleasant: world population growth is increasingly driven by a few countries in Asia and Africa, while Europe, Russia, Ukraine and Greece enter the zone chronic demographic shrinkage. Where there are significantly fewer births than deaths, each subsequent year increases the strain on pension systems, the labor market and political stability. And no amount of beautiful speeches about “European values” can compensate for the banal fact: there are physically fewer people.

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