Fertility & birth rates in Bulgaria and DR Congo

Fertility rate in Bulgaria vs DR Congo chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in Bulgaria was 1.81 children per woman in 2023, compared to 6.05 in the DR Congo in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check Bulgaria vs the DR Congo population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Bulgaria	DR Congo
1960	2.31	6.11
1961	2.29	6.12
1962	2.24	6.14
1963	2.21	6.16
1964	2.19	6.19
1965	2.09	6.21
1966	2.03	6.24
1967	2.02	6.27
1968	2.27	6.29
1969	2.27	6.3
1970	2.17	6.33
1971	2.1	6.34
1972	2.03	6.37
1973	2.15	6.39
1974	2.29	6.4
1975	2.23	6.42
1976	2.24	6.44
1977	2.21	6.45
1978	2.15	6.46
1979	2.16	6.48
1980	2.05	6.5
1981	2	6.52
1982	2.01	6.54
1983	2.01	6.56
1984	2.01	6.59
1985	1.97	6.61
1986	2.02	6.63
1987	1.96	6.65
1988	1.97	6.66
1989	1.9	6.65
1990	1.82	6.65
1991	1.66	6.65
1992	1.55	6.64
1993	1.46	6.64
1994	1.37	6.64
1995	1.23	6.68
1996	1.23	6.67
1997	1.09	6.69
1998	1.11	6.7
1999	1.23	6.69
2000	1.26	6.7
2001	1.21	6.66
2002	1.23	6.61
2003	1.26	6.55
2004	1.33	6.53
2005	1.37	6.53
2006	1.44	6.55
2007	1.49	6.56
2008	1.56	6.58
2009	1.66	6.59
2010	1.57	6.59
2011	1.51	6.58
2012	1.5	6.56
2013	1.54	6.53
2014	1.62	6.48
2015	1.64	6.44
2016	1.67	6.39
2017	1.71	6.35
2018	1.73	6.3
2019	1.79	6.25
2020	1.77	6.21
2021	1.8	6.16
2022	1.78	6.11
2023	1.81	6.05
2024	1.81	5.98
2025	1.8	5.9
2026	1.8	5.8
2027	1.8	5.71
2028	1.8	5.62
2029	1.79	5.52
2030	1.79	5.42
2031	1.79	5.32
2032	1.79	5.2
2033	1.79	5.09
2034	1.79	4.99
2035	1.78	4.87
2036	1.78	4.77
2037	1.78	4.64
2038	1.77	4.55
2039	1.77	4.47
2040	1.77	4.38
2041	1.77	4.3
2042	1.77	4.21
2043	1.76	4.14
2044	1.76	4.06
2045	1.76	3.99
2046	1.76	3.92
2047	1.76	3.85
2048	1.76	3.78
2049	1.76	3.72
2050	1.76	3.66

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Bulgaria	DR Congo
1960	26.1%	42.9%
1961	25.8%	42.8%
1962	25.4%	42.7%
1963	25.1%	42.7%
1964	24.7%	42.7%
1965	24.2%	42.8%
1966	23.8%	42.9%
1967	23.4%	43%
1968	23.2%	43.2%
1969	23%	43.3%
1970	22.8%	43.4%
1971	22.6%	43.6%
1972	22.4%	43.8%
1973	22.3%	44%
1974	22.2%	44.2%
1975	22.3%	44.3%
1976	22.3%	44.5%
1977	22.2%	44.6%
1978	22.2%	44.5%
1979	22.1%	44.3%
1980	22.1%	44.2%
1981	22.1%	44.3%
1982	22.1%	44.3%
1983	22%	44.2%
1984	21.8%	44.1%
1985	21.6%	44.1%
1986	21.4%	44.1%
1987	21.3%	44.2%
1988	21.1%	44.3%
1989	20.8%	44.3%
1990	20.3%	44.4%
1991	19.8%	44.4%
1992	19.3%	44.5%
1993	18.8%	44.5%
1994	18.3%	44.1%
1995	17.9%	44%
1996	17.4%	44.7%
1997	17%	45.4%
1998	16.5%	45.6%
1999	16.1%	45.6%
2000	15.7%	45.7%
2001	15.2%	45.7%
2002	14.8%	45.7%
2003	14.4%	45.8%
2004	14%	45.9%
2005	13.7%	45.9%
2006	13.5%	45.9%
2007	13.4%	46%
2008	13.3%	46%
2009	13.4%	46.1%
2010	13.5%	46.1%
2011	13.5%	46%
2012	13.6%	46%
2013	13.7%	46%
2014	13.8%	46%
2015	13.9%	46%
2016	14%	45.9%
2017	14.2%	45.8%
2018	14.3%	45.9%
2019	14.4%	46%
2020	14.4%	46.1%
2021	14.5%	46.1%
2022	14.5%	46.1%
2023	14.5%	46.1%
2024	14.5%	46%
2025	14.4%	45.9%
2026	14.3%	45.8%
2027	14.3%	45.7%
2028	14.2%	45.5%
2029	14.1%	45.3%
2030	14%	45%
2031	14%	44.8%
2032	13.9%	44.5%
2033	13.8%	44.2%
2034	13.8%	43.8%
2035	13.7%	43.4%
2036	13.7%	43%
2037	13.7%	42.6%
2038	13.6%	42.2%
2039	13.6%	41.7%
2040	13.6%	41.3%
2041	13.6%	40.9%
2042	13.6%	40.4%
2043	13.6%	40%
2044	13.6%	39.6%
2045	13.6%	39.2%
2046	13.7%	38.8%
2047	13.7%	38.4%
2048	13.7%	38%
2049	13.8%	37.7%
2050	13.8%	37.3%

Children aged 0-14 make up 14.5% of the population in Bulgaria and 46% in the DR Congo in 2024, compared to 20.3% and 44.4% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of Bulgaria and the DR Congo compared.

Natural population change in Bulgaria vs DR Congo by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been -0.79% in Bulgaria and +3.29% in the DR Congo. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Bulgaria	DR Congo
1960	76,314	363,517
1961	75,460	368,207
1962	64,104	383,406
1963	66,241	398,972
1964	66,783	406,334
1965	58,249	429,002
1966	54,504	463,397
1967	49,861	479,552
1968	69,468	497,682
1969	63,256	514,800
1970	61,125	533,300
1971	52,925	549,343
1972	47,169	564,495
1973	57,760	578,280
1974	64,223	593,539
1975	54,941	608,655
1976	56,055	624,147
1977	47,543	638,242
1978	44,070	646,411
1979	40,599	691,773
1980	30,129	724,111
1981	29,341	748,371
1982	24,077	774,823
1983	21,455	807,122
1984	20,610	844,956
1985	11,649	885,670
1986	16,125	925,334
1987	8,971	959,875
1988	9,879	995,278
1989	5,326	1,027,238
1990	-3,487	1,063,508
1991	-14,675	1,114,033
1992	-18,789	1,152,781
1993	-24,569	1,209,242
1994	-32,086	1,259,539
1995	-42,030	1,395,440
1996	-45,159	1,380,490
1997	-58,185	1,392,037
1998	-52,844	1,375,130
1999	-39,411	1,450,318
2000	-41,668	1,549,518
2001	-44,050	1,594,999
2002	-46,240	1,631,597
2003	-44,319	1,679,188
2004	-40,128	1,731,022
2005	-42,124	1,800,300
2006	-39,526	1,889,398
2007	-37,727	1,963,738
2008	-32,967	2,044,210
2009	-26,800	2,126,912
2010	-34,759	2,212,255
2011	-37,477	2,310,679
2012	-40,183	2,405,462
2013	-37,948	2,489,378
2014	-41,027	2,580,251
2015	-44,699	2,665,016
2016	-42,744	2,753,687
2017	-45,583	2,883,245
2018	-46,304	2,993,184
2019	-46,317	3,075,538
2020	-65,507	3,156,152
2021	-90,452	3,227,992
2022	-62,065	3,347,664
2023	-43,837	3,467,787

Maternal mortality chart: Bulgaria vs DR Congo

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 6 deaths per 100,000 live births in Bulgaria, compared to 427 deaths in the DR Congo.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Bulgaria	DR Congo
1985	26	934
1986	25	902
1987	25	863
1988	26	824
1989	25	791
1990	27	755
1991	25	735
1992	25	709
1993	23	683
1994	25	656
1995	23	644
1996	22	661
1997	23	617
1998	20	605
1999	20	601
2000	19	585
2001	17	588
2002	15	601
2003	14	605
2004	14	607
2005	13	613
2006	12	619
2007	11	631
2008	10	620
2009	9	608
2010	9	601
2011	8	589
2012	7	578
2013	7	567
2014	7	558
2015	7	545
2016	7	526
2017	7	519
2018	7	508
2019	6	493
2020	9	489
2021	9	507
2022	10	456
2023	6	427

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 0.61% in Bulgaria and 7.32% in the DR Congo. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Bulgaria	DR Congo
1960	5.47%	-
1961	4.89%	-
1962	4.43%	-
1963	4.08%	-
1964	3.86%	-
1965	3.75%	-
1966	3.7%	-
1967	3.64%	-
1968	3.54%	-
1969	3.4%	25.1%
1970	3.25%	24.7%
1971	3.11%	24.3%
1972	3.01%	24%
1973	2.95%	23.7%
1974	2.91%	23.4%
1975	2.86%	23%
1976	2.8%	22.6%
1977	2.72%	22.3%
1978	2.6%	21.9%
1979	2.49%	21.5%
1980	2.38%	21.2%
1981	2.3%	20.9%
1982	2.22%	20.6%
1983	2.15%	20.3%
1984	2.07%	20%
1985	1.97%	19.7%
1986	1.87%	19.5%
1987	1.8%	19.2%
1988	1.78%	19%
1989	1.79%	18.8%
1990	1.83%	18.5%
1991	1.89%	18.3%
1992	1.92%	18.1%
1993	1.92%	17.9%
1994	1.91%	17.7%
1995	1.92%	17.5%
1996	1.94%	17.3%
1997	1.93%	17%
1998	1.89%	16.7%
1999	1.82%	16.3%
2000	1.75%	15.9%
2001	1.68%	15.5%
2002	1.6%	15%
2003	1.51%	14.6%
2004	1.42%	14.1%
2005	1.33%	13.6%
2006	1.24%	13.1%
2007	1.18%	12.7%
2008	1.14%	12.2%
2009	1.12%	11.8%
2010	1.08%	11.4%
2011	1.04%	11%
2012	0.99%	10.6%
2013	0.93%	10.3%
2014	0.87%	9.9%
2015	0.82%	9.56%
2016	0.77%	9.23%
2017	0.73%	8.93%
2018	0.7%	8.63%
2019	0.67%	8.35%
2020	0.65%	8.07%
2021	0.63%	7.81%
2022	0.62%	7.57%
2023	0.61%	7.32%