Fertility & birth rates in Bulgaria and South Africa

Fertility rate in Bulgaria vs South Africa 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 2.22 in South Africa in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check Bulgaria vs South Africa 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	South Africa
1960	2.31	6.11
1961	2.29	6.08
1962	2.24	6.05
1963	2.21	6.01
1964	2.19	5.96
1965	2.09	5.89
1966	2.03	5.91
1967	2.02	5.85
1968	2.27	5.78
1969	2.27	5.72
1970	2.17	5.63
1971	2.1	5.57
1972	2.03	5.49
1973	2.15	5.41
1974	2.29	5.3
1975	2.23	5.19
1976	2.24	5.07
1977	2.21	4.94
1978	2.15	4.85
1979	2.16	4.82
1980	2.05	4.78
1981	2	4.71
1982	2.01	4.7
1983	2.01	4.63
1984	2.01	4.57
1985	1.97	4.5
1986	2.02	4.41
1987	1.96	4.35
1988	1.97	4.18
1989	1.9	3.98
1990	1.82	3.72
1991	1.66	3.62
1992	1.55	3.48
1993	1.46	3.37
1994	1.37	3.26
1995	1.23	3.17
1996	1.23	2.99
1997	1.09	2.73
1998	1.11	2.63
1999	1.23	2.56
2000	1.26	2.41
2001	1.21	2.37
2002	1.23	2.32
2003	1.26	2.36
2004	1.33	2.44
2005	1.37	2.51
2006	1.44	2.55
2007	1.49	2.55
2008	1.56	2.68
2009	1.66	2.5
2010	1.57	2.44
2011	1.51	2.44
2012	1.5	2.45
2013	1.54	2.43
2014	1.62	2.42
2015	1.64	2.36
2016	1.67	2.26
2017	1.71	2.28
2018	1.73	2.27
2019	1.79	2.26
2020	1.77	2.26
2021	1.8	2.25
2022	1.78	2.23
2023	1.81	2.22
2024	1.81	2.21
2025	1.8	2.19
2026	1.8	2.17
2027	1.8	2.15
2028	1.8	2.13
2029	1.79	2.12
2030	1.79	2.1
2031	1.79	2.09
2032	1.79	2.07
2033	1.79	2.06
2034	1.79	2.05
2035	1.78	2.04
2036	1.78	2.03
2037	1.78	2.02
2038	1.77	2
2039	1.77	1.99
2040	1.77	1.98
2041	1.77	1.98
2042	1.77	1.97
2043	1.76	1.96
2044	1.76	1.95
2045	1.76	1.94
2046	1.76	1.93
2047	1.76	1.92
2048	1.76	1.91
2049	1.76	1.9
2050	1.76	1.89

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Bulgaria	South Africa
1960	26.1%	42.1%
1961	25.8%	42.1%
1962	25.4%	42.1%
1963	25.1%	42.1%
1964	24.7%	42.1%
1965	24.2%	42.1%
1966	23.8%	42.1%
1967	23.4%	42.2%
1968	23.2%	42.2%
1969	23%	42.2%
1970	22.8%	42.3%
1971	22.6%	42.2%
1972	22.4%	42.2%
1973	22.3%	42.1%
1974	22.2%	42%
1975	22.3%	41.9%
1976	22.3%	41.8%
1977	22.2%	41.7%
1978	22.2%	41.5%
1979	22.1%	41.3%
1980	22.1%	40.9%
1981	22.1%	40.5%
1982	22.1%	40.1%
1983	22%	39.8%
1984	21.8%	39.5%
1985	21.6%	39.2%
1986	21.4%	38.9%
1987	21.3%	38.7%
1988	21.1%	38.4%
1989	20.8%	38.1%
1990	20.3%	37.7%
1991	19.8%	37.5%
1992	19.3%	37.6%
1993	18.8%	37.3%
1994	18.3%	37.2%
1995	17.9%	37.5%
1996	17.4%	37.5%
1997	17%	37.2%
1998	16.5%	36.5%
1999	16.1%	35.7%
2000	15.7%	34.9%
2001	15.2%	34%
2002	14.8%	33.2%
2003	14.4%	32.3%
2004	14%	31.6%
2005	13.7%	31.1%
2006	13.5%	30.6%
2007	13.4%	30.2%
2008	13.3%	29.9%
2009	13.4%	29.7%
2010	13.5%	29.4%
2011	13.5%	29.1%
2012	13.6%	28.9%
2013	13.7%	28.7%
2014	13.8%	28.5%
2015	13.9%	28.3%
2016	14%	28.3%
2017	14.2%	28.3%
2018	14.3%	27.9%
2019	14.4%	27.4%
2020	14.4%	27%
2021	14.5%	26.6%
2022	14.5%	26.3%
2023	14.5%	26.1%
2024	14.5%	25.9%
2025	14.4%	25.7%
2026	14.3%	25.6%
2027	14.3%	25.4%
2028	14.2%	25.3%
2029	14.1%	25.2%
2030	14%	25.2%
2031	14%	25.1%
2032	13.9%	25%
2033	13.8%	24.8%
2034	13.8%	24.5%
2035	13.7%	24.3%
2036	13.7%	23.9%
2037	13.7%	23.6%
2038	13.6%	23.4%
2039	13.6%	23.1%
2040	13.6%	22.9%
2041	13.6%	22.7%
2042	13.6%	22.5%
2043	13.6%	22.4%
2044	13.6%	22.2%
2045	13.6%	22.1%
2046	13.7%	21.9%
2047	13.7%	21.8%
2048	13.7%	21.7%
2049	13.8%	21.6%
2050	13.8%	21.5%

Children aged 0-14 make up 14.5% of the population in Bulgaria and 25.9% in South Africa in 2024, compared to 20.3% and 37.7% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of Bulgaria and South Africa compared.

Natural population change in Bulgaria vs South Africa by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been -0.79% in Bulgaria and +1.05% in South Africa. 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	South Africa
1960	76,314	421,263
1961	75,460	437,851
1962	64,104	455,634
1963	66,241	473,821
1964	66,783	490,606
1965	58,249	506,632
1966	54,504	534,862
1967	49,861	553,741
1968	69,468	571,841
1969	63,256	590,794
1970	61,125	605,102
1971	52,925	624,761
1972	47,169	638,754
1973	57,760	651,596
1974	64,223	658,438
1975	54,941	667,862
1976	56,055	675,011
1977	47,543	680,929
1978	44,070	694,341
1979	40,599	716,541
1980	30,129	738,415
1981	29,341	767,833
1982	24,077	807,550
1983	21,455	837,013
1984	20,610	869,011
1985	11,649	893,889
1986	16,125	903,644
1987	8,971	922,330
1988	9,879	909,221
1989	5,326	884,629
1990	-3,487	835,421
1991	-14,675	827,296
1992	-18,789	794,415
1993	-24,569	789,220
1994	-32,086	698,609
1995	-42,030	743,488
1996	-45,159	710,868
1997	-58,185	667,969
1998	-52,844	627,027
1999	-39,411	594,643
2000	-41,668	526,963
2001	-44,050	484,801
2002	-46,240	430,926
2003	-44,319	415,018
2004	-40,128	442,540
2005	-42,124	464,464
2006	-39,526	487,584
2007	-37,727	503,567
2008	-32,967	595,332
2009	-26,800	554,115
2010	-34,759	566,834
2011	-37,477	601,708
2012	-40,183	643,723
2013	-37,948	652,427
2014	-41,027	674,754
2015	-44,699	668,771
2016	-42,744	641,365
2017	-45,583	645,975
2018	-46,304	648,319
2019	-46,317	652,130
2020	-65,507	595,873
2021	-90,452	456,411
2022	-62,065	603,636
2023	-43,837	602,793

Maternal mortality chart: Bulgaria vs South Africa

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 118 deaths in South Africa.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Bulgaria	South Africa
1985	26	208
1986	25	200
1987	25	192
1988	26	184
1989	25	177
1990	27	170
1991	25	162
1992	25	152
1993	23	145
1994	25	133
1995	23	125
1996	22	150
1997	23	152
1998	20	152
1999	20	151
2000	19	175
2001	17	192
2002	15	225
2003	14	245
2004	14	259
2005	13	279
2006	12	283
2007	11	272
2008	10	272
2009	9	241
2010	9	226
2011	8	202
2012	7	194
2013	7	180
2014	7	162
2015	7	150
2016	7	141
2017	7	134
2018	7	128
2019	6	119
2020	9	118
2021	9	191
2022	10	129
2023	6	118

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 0.61% in Bulgaria and 3.47% in South Africa. 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	South Africa
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%	-
1970	3.25%	-
1971	3.11%	-
1972	3.01%	-
1973	2.95%	-
1974	2.91%	13.2%
1975	2.86%	12.5%
1976	2.8%	11.8%
1977	2.72%	11.1%
1978	2.6%	10.5%
1979	2.49%	9.88%
1980	2.38%	9.35%
1981	2.3%	8.84%
1982	2.22%	8.39%
1983	2.15%	7.98%
1984	2.07%	7.6%
1985	1.97%	7.24%
1986	1.87%	6.89%
1987	1.8%	6.56%
1988	1.78%	6.26%
1989	1.79%	6.01%
1990	1.83%	5.82%
1991	1.89%	5.7%
1992	1.92%	5.66%
1993	1.92%	5.7%
1994	1.91%	5.82%
1995	1.92%	5.95%
1996	1.94%	6.11%
1997	1.93%	6.29%
1998	1.89%	6.56%
1999	1.82%	6.85%
2000	1.75%	7.11%
2001	1.68%	7.43%
2002	1.6%	7.69%
2003	1.51%	7.93%
2004	1.42%	8.1%
2005	1.33%	8.03%
2006	1.24%	7.75%
2007	1.18%	7.19%
2008	1.14%	6.42%
2009	1.12%	5.7%
2010	1.08%	5%
2011	1.04%	4.5%
2012	0.99%	4.25%
2013	0.93%	4.1%
2014	0.87%	3.96%
2015	0.82%	3.82%
2016	0.77%	3.68%
2017	0.73%	3.58%
2018	0.7%	3.49%
2019	0.67%	3.45%
2020	0.65%	3.41%
2021	0.63%	3.41%
2022	0.62%	3.44%
2023	0.61%	3.47%