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Fertility & birth rates in China and Iraq

Updated on by Georank team

China has an annual birth rate of 6.39 births per 1,000 people, compared to 25.7 for Iraq. The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — the fertility rate, is 1 in China and 3.25 in Iraq — 225.2% difference.

1960 vs 2023, the fertility rate has decreased by -77.6% in China and by -38.7% in Iraq — in 1960, it was 4.45 and 5.3, respectively.

Birth rates facts compared:

  • China is ranked 191/196 by birth rate compared to 51/196 for Iraq.
  • The mean age at childbearing (for all the births, not just the first) is 29.3 in China — it's 28.6 in Iraq.
  • Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 (adolescent birth rate or teenage mother rate) is 5.23 in China vs 58 in Iraq.
  • In China, 22.3% of the population is composed of women of reproductive age (15-49), compared to 25.3% in Iraq.
  • Excluding migration, the natural population change due to births and deaths from 2022 to 2023 was -0.15% in China and +2.16% in Iraq.

Birth rate data compared

China Iraq
Fertility rate 1 3.25
Birth rate 6.39 25.7
Birth rate rank 191/196 51/196
Average age at childbearing 29.3 years 28.6 years
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 5.15 56.2
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 20-29 57.4 162.2
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 30+ 8.77 45.1
Female of reproductive age (15-49), share of population 22.3% 25.3%
Any modern method of contraceptive prevalence among married women ages 15-49 80.5% 36.1%
Share of births attended by skilled health staff 99.9% 95.6%
Maternal mortality per live birth 0.02% 0.07%
Neonatal mortality rate (before reaching 28 days of age) 0.28% 1.29%
Infant mortality rate (before reaching 1 year of age) 0.45% 2.08%
Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births 0.62% 2.26%
Population change due to births and deaths -2,087,851 +973,420
Natural population change rank 196/196 20/196
Natural population change rate -0.15% +2.16%
Population growth -0.12% +2.15%
Population growth rank 173/197 48/197
Life expectancy 78.4 years 72.5 years

Fertility rate in China vs Iraq chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in China was 1 children per woman in 2023, compared to 3.25 in Iraq in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check China vs Iraq population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

China
Factual

UN forecast
Iraq
Factual

UN forecast

Births per woman

Year Fertility rate
China Iraq
1960 4.45 5.3
1961 3.86 5.8
1962 6.09 6.99
1963 7.51 7.01
1964 6.67 7.01
1965 6.61 7.02
1966 6.31 7.02
1967 5.81 7.03
1968 6.51 7.06
1969 6.18 7.08
1970 6.09 7.07
1971 5.52 7.06
1972 5.11 7.02
1973 4.73 6.99
1974 4.17 6.95
1975 3.57 6.91
1976 3.24 6.86
1977 2.84 6.8
1978 2.72 6.73
1979 2.75 6.66
1980 2.74 6.59
1981 2.79 6.53
1982 2.97 6.46
1983 2.56 6.39
1984 2.61 6.32
1985 2.63 6.25
1986 2.72 6.18
1987 2.76 6.11
1988 2.54 6.05
1989 2.52 5.99
1990 2.51 5.93
1991 1.93 5.83
1992 1.78 5.72
1993 1.69 5.61
1994 1.63 5.49
1995 1.59 5.36
1996 1.55 5.25
1997 1.53 5.19
1998 1.52 5.11
1999 1.53 5.04
2000 1.63 4.92
2001 1.56 4.8
2002 1.57 4.67
2003 1.57 4.58
2004 1.61 4.53
2005 1.62 4.45
2006 1.64 4.46
2007 1.67 4.4
2008 1.7 4.37
2009 1.71 4.38
2010 1.69 4.46
2011 1.67 4.59
2012 1.8 4.54
2013 1.71 4.44
2014 1.77 4.31
2015 1.67 4.08
2016 1.77 3.84
2017 1.8 3.64
2018 1.54 3.55
2019 1.5 3.48
2020 1.24 3.42
2021 1.12 3.36
2022 1.03 3.29
2023 1 3.25
2024 1.01 3.22
2025 1.02 3.17
2026 1.03 3.13
2027 1.04 3.09
2028 1.05 3.05
2029 1.05 3.01
2030 1.06 2.97
2031 1.07 2.94
2032 1.08 2.89
2033 1.08 2.86
2034 1.09 2.83
2035 1.1 2.79
2036 1.1 2.77
2037 1.11 2.74
2038 1.12 2.71
2039 1.12 2.69
2040 1.13 2.66
2041 1.13 2.64
2042 1.14 2.61
2043 1.15 2.59
2044 1.15 2.57
2045 1.16 2.54
2046 1.16 2.52
2047 1.17 2.5
2048 1.17 2.48
2049 1.18 2.47
2050 1.18 2.45

Children 0-14 years as share of population

China
Factual

UN forecast
Iraq
Factual

UN forecast
Year Share of people 0-14 years old
China Iraq
1960 40.3% 39.8%
1961 40% 39.9%
1962 40% 40.4%
1963 40.6% 41%
1964 41.2% 41.5%
1965 41.5% 42.1%
1966 41.5% 42.5%
1967 41.3% 42.8%
1968 41% 43%
1969 41% 43.3%
1970 40.8% 43.6%
1971 40.7% 44.1%
1972 40.4% 44.7%
1973 40.1% 45.5%
1974 40.2% 46.2%
1975 40.2% 46.7%
1976 40.3% 47.2%
1977 39.8% 47.3%
1978 38.6% 47.1%
1979 37.2% 47%
1980 36.1% 46.8%
1981 35.1% 46.7%
1982 34.3% 46.6%
1983 33.3% 46.5%
1984 32.2% 46.3%
1985 31.2% 46.2%
1986 30.4% 46%
1987 29.8% 45.8%
1988 29.3% 45.6%
1989 28.9% 45.4%
1990 28.8% 45.2%
1991 28.6% 45%
1992 28.4% 44.9%
1993 28.2% 44.7%
1994 27.8% 44.6%
1995 27.4% 44.4%
1996 27% 44.3%
1997 26.3% 44.1%
1998 25.7% 44%
1999 25.2% 43.8%
2000 24.5% 43.7%
2001 23.8% 43.5%
2002 22.9% 43.3%
2003 22% 43.1%
2004 21.2% 42.9%
2005 20.3% 42.6%
2006 19.6% 42.3%
2007 19.2% 42.1%
2008 18.9% 41.8%
2009 18.6% 41.5%
2010 18.5% 41.2%
2011 18.3% 41.1%
2012 18.3% 41%
2013 18.3% 40.8%
2014 18.3% 40.6%
2015 18.3% 40.4%
2016 18.3% 40.1%
2017 18.4% 39.7%
2018 18.3% 39.3%
2019 18.2% 38.9%
2020 18% 38.5%
2021 17.6% 38.1%
2022 17.1% 37.6%
2023 16.6% 37.1%
2024 16% 36.6%
2025 15.4% 36%
2026 14.8% 35.4%
2027 14.1% 34.7%
2028 13.5% 34.1%
2029 12.8% 33.4%
2030 12.1% 32.9%
2031 11.5% 32.5%
2032 10.8% 32.1%
2033 10.3% 31.8%
2034 9.83% 31.6%
2035 9.53% 31.3%
2036 9.37% 31.1%
2037 9.31% 30.9%
2038 9.31% 30.6%
2039 9.34% 30.4%
2040 9.38% 30.1%
2041 9.43% 29.9%
2042 9.49% 29.7%
2043 9.56% 29.4%
2044 9.63% 29.1%
2045 9.71% 28.8%
2046 9.78% 28.6%
2047 9.85% 28.3%
2048 9.9% 28%
2049 9.93% 27.7%
2050 9.94% 27.4%

Children aged 0-14 make up 16% of the population in China and 36.6% in Iraq in 2024, compared to 28.8% and 45.2% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of China and Iraq compared.

Natural population change in China vs Iraq by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +0.31% in China and +2.37% in Iraq. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

China
Iraq

Natural population change

Year Population change due to births and deaths
China Iraq
1960 -3,048,510 155,651
1961 2,496,047 184,792
1962 17,969,132 247,520
1963 22,742,225 254,046
1964 19,302,532 262,825
1965 20,296,950 274,551
1966 19,282,187 285,507
1967 19,263,662 298,192
1968 21,206,083 310,644
1969 20,760,332 324,792
1970 21,137,076 338,030
1971 19,622,980 351,464
1972 19,102,585 362,334
1973 18,423,727 373,191
1974 15,738,118 376,197
1975 14,378,237 385,916
1976 11,782,472 402,260
1977 11,378,068 410,229
1978 11,473,980 418,756
1979 11,250,148 428,458
1980 11,647,260 419,653
1981 14,461,027 416,998
1982 15,815,318 428,336
1983 13,599,789 439,800
1984 13,561,671 455,740
1985 14,987,830 467,445
1986 16,609,920 474,348
1987 18,005,821 488,742
1988 17,328,640 476,778
1989 16,824,495 496,852
1990 16,335,313 518,575
1991 14,937,124 550,146
1992 13,548,601 591,886
1993 13,493,138 606,700
1994 13,360,470 634,344
1995 12,711,220 642,977
1996 12,686,872 652,866
1997 12,374,554 667,582
1998 11,351,286 684,152
1999 10,247,372 702,170
2000 9,570,849 715,771
2001 8,839,358 729,704
2002 8,258,580 739,419
2003 7,743,284 746,159
2004 7,607,960 761,563
2005 7,678,911 776,603
2006 6,922,185 797,342
2007 6,813,465 784,119
2008 6,729,247 802,382
2009 6,483,236 855,096
2010 6,407,607 906,369
2011 8,245,065 971,082
2012 10,075,174 999,987
2013 8,043,116 1,026,036
2014 9,205,180 1,040,726
2015 6,788,911 1,007,561
2016 9,062,269 946,968
2017 7,790,880 924,507
2018 5,302,433 938,310
2019 4,673,713 942,972
2020 2,046,095 919,953
2021 480,203 941,924
2022 -847,305 962,501
2023 -2,087,851 973,420

Fertility rates around the globe

Fertility rate

Maternal mortality chart: China vs Iraq

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 16 deaths per 100,000 live births in China, compared to 66 deaths in Iraq.

China
Iraq
Year Maternal mortality per 100K births
China Iraq
1985 125 152
1986 120 147
1987 114 145
1988 108 174
1989 104 190
1990 102 195
1991 92 157
1992 86 126
1993 80 132
1994 76 142
1995 71 152
1996 67 158
1997 63 165
1998 60 163
1999 58 156
2000 56 146
2001 52 137
2002 50 128
2003 47 125
2004 45 122
2005 42 118
2006 40 120
2007 38 117
2008 38 109
2009 35 107
2010 34 107
2011 33 105
2012 32 100
2013 30 96
2014 28 90
2015 26 86
2016 25 87
2017 24 81
2018 22 76
2019 21 74
2020 20 63
2021 21 77
2022 18 59
2023 16 66

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 0.62% in China and 2.26% in Iraq. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

China
Iraq

Probability that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five

Year Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
China Iraq
1960 - 19%
1961 - 17.9%
1962 - 16.9%
1963 - 16%
1964 - 15.1%
1965 - 14.4%
1966 - 13.6%
1967 - 13%
1968 - 12.4%
1969 11.9% 11.8%
1970 11.3% 11.2%
1971 10.7% 10.7%
1972 10.2% 10.3%
1973 9.61% 9.79%
1974 9.05% 9.35%
1975 8.5% 8.93%
1976 7.97% 8.54%
1977 7.47% 8.17%
1978 7.01% 7.83%
1979 6.62% 7.52%
1980 6.28% 7.23%
1981 6% 6.96%
1982 5.78% 6.71%
1983 5.61% 6.49%
1984 5.5% 6.28%
1985 5.43% 6.09%
1986 5.4% 5.91%
1987 5.4% 5.75%
1988 5.4% 6.92%
1989 5.39% 8.12%
1990 5.37% 7.97%
1991 5.31% 6.49%
1992 5.22% 5.17%
1993 5.08% 5.07%
1994 4.93% 4.98%
1995 4.75% 4.89%
1996 4.56% 4.8%
1997 4.36% 4.71%
1998 4.14% 4.61%
1999 3.91% 4.52%
2000 3.67% 4.43%
2001 3.42% 4.33%
2002 3.15% 4.24%
2003 2.89% 4.16%
2004 2.64% 4.07%
2005 2.4% 3.97%
2006 2.19% 3.88%
2007 2.01% 3.78%
2008 1.85% 3.67%
2009 1.71% 3.56%
2010 1.58% 3.46%
2011 1.46% 3.35%
2012 1.35% 3.24%
2013 1.25% 3.14%
2014 1.15% 3.04%
2015 1.07% 2.94%
2016 0.99% 2.84%
2017 0.92% 2.75%
2018 0.86% 2.66%
2019 0.8% 2.57%
2020 0.75% 2.49%
2021 0.7% 2.41%
2022 0.66% 2.33%
2023 0.62% 2.26%

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Birth rate comparisons

Birth rate vs China vs Iraq
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