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Fertility & birth rates in Gambia and Japan

Updated on by Georank team

The Gambia has an annual birth rate of 30.4 births per 1,000 people, compared to 6 for Japan. The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — the fertility rate, is 4.01 in the Gambia and 1.2 in Japan — 70% difference.

1960 vs 2023, the fertility rate has decreased by -35.9% in the Gambia and by -40% in Japan — in 1960, it was 6.25 and 2, respectively.

Birth rates facts compared:

  • The Gambia is ranked 30/196 by birth rate compared to 192/196 for Japan.
  • The mean age for first-time mothers is 20.7 years in the Gambia, compared to 30.7 years in Japan.
  • The mean age at childbearing (for all the births, not just the first) is 29.8 in the Gambia — it's 32.1 in Japan.
  • Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 (adolescent birth rate or teenage mother rate) is 58.1 in the Gambia vs 1.74 in Japan.
  • In the Gambia, 24.5% of the population is composed of women of reproductive age (15-49), compared to 18.6% in Japan.
  • Excluding migration, the natural population change due to births and deaths from 2022 to 2023 was +2.41% in the Gambia and -0.7% in Japan.

Birth rate data compared

Gambia Japan
Fertility rate 4.01 1.2
Birth rate 30.4 6
Birth rate rank 30/196 192/196
Age at first childbirth 20.7 years 30.7 years
Average age at childbearing 29.8 years 32.1 years
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 54.1 1.54
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 20-29 173 41
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 30+ 68.1 10.5
Female of reproductive age (15-49), share of population 24.5% 18.6%
Any modern method of contraceptive prevalence among married women ages 15-49 17.1% 52.8%
Share of births attended by skilled health staff 83.8% 99.8%
Maternal mortality per live birth 0.35% 0.003%
Neonatal mortality rate (before reaching 28 days of age) 2.37% 0.08%
Infant mortality rate (before reaching 1 year of age) 3.38% 0.18%
Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births 4.41% 0.24%
Population change due to births and deaths +65,118 -871,617
Natural population change rank 88/196 195/196
Natural population change rate +2.41% -0.7%
Population growth +2.3% -0.43%
Population growth rank 39/197 182/197
Life expectancy 66.3 years 85 years

Fertility rate in Gambia vs Japan chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in the Gambia was 4.01 children per woman in 2023, compared to 1.2 in Japan in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check the Gambia vs Japan population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Gambia
Factual

UN forecast
Japan
Factual

UN forecast

Births per woman

Year Fertility rate
Gambia Japan
1960 6.25 2
1961 6.23 1.96
1962 6.21 1.98
1963 6.2 2
1964 6.2 2.05
1965 6.19 2.14
1966 6.18 1.58
1967 6.21 2.23
1968 6.22 2.13
1969 6.25 2.13
1970 6.26 2.13
1971 6.33 2.16
1972 6.37 2.14
1973 6.41 2.14
1974 6.42 2.05
1975 6.43 1.91
1976 6.43 1.85
1977 6.43 1.8
1978 6.42 1.79
1979 6.41 1.77
1980 6.41 1.75
1981 6.4 1.74
1982 6.4 1.77
1983 6.39 1.8
1984 6.39 1.81
1985 6.36 1.76
1986 6.34 1.72
1987 6.3 1.69
1988 6.26 1.66
1989 6.25 1.57
1990 6.25 1.54
1991 6.19 1.53
1992 6.11 1.5
1993 6.03 1.46
1994 6.04 1.5
1995 5.99 1.42
1996 5.93 1.43
1997 5.85 1.39
1998 5.82 1.38
1999 5.77 1.34
2000 5.72 1.36
2001 5.67 1.33
2002 5.66 1.32
2003 5.66 1.29
2004 5.68 1.29
2005 5.71 1.26
2006 5.74 1.32
2007 5.69 1.34
2008 5.63 1.37
2009 5.57 1.37
2010 5.56 1.39
2011 5.54 1.39
2012 5.52 1.41
2013 5.39 1.43
2014 5.2 1.42
2015 5 1.45
2016 4.81 1.44
2017 4.61 1.43
2018 4.42 1.42
2019 4.33 1.36
2020 4.25 1.33
2021 4.17 1.3
2022 4.08 1.26
2023 4.01 1.2
2024 3.91 1.21
2025 3.8 1.22
2026 3.7 1.22
2027 3.6 1.23
2028 3.51 1.24
2029 3.41 1.25
2030 3.33 1.25
2031 3.24 1.26
2032 3.17 1.26
2033 3.1 1.27
2034 3.03 1.28
2035 2.97 1.28
2036 2.91 1.29
2037 2.86 1.29
2038 2.81 1.3
2039 2.76 1.3
2040 2.71 1.3
2041 2.67 1.31
2042 2.63 1.31
2043 2.59 1.31
2044 2.56 1.32
2045 2.52 1.32
2046 2.49 1.33
2047 2.46 1.33
2048 2.43 1.33
2049 2.4 1.34
2050 2.38 1.34

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Gambia
Factual

UN forecast
Japan
Factual

UN forecast
Year Share of people 0-14 years old
Gambia Japan
1960 41% 29.8%
1961 40.8% 29.1%
1962 40.7% 28%
1963 40.8% 26.8%
1964 41% 25.8%
1965 41.3% 25.1%
1966 41.5% 24.4%
1967 41.6% 23.8%
1968 41.8% 23.5%
1969 41.9% 23.4%
1970 42% 23.3%
1971 42.1% 23.3%
1972 42.2% 23.4%
1973 42.3% 23.6%
1974 42.4% 23.8%
1975 42.6% 23.8%
1976 42.8% 23.9%
1977 43% 23.9%
1978 43.3% 23.8%
1979 43.5% 23.7%
1980 43.7% 23.4%
1981 44% 23.3%
1982 44.3% 23.1%
1983 44.6% 22.6%
1984 44.9% 22.2%
1985 45% 21.7%
1986 45.2% 21%
1987 45.4% 20.3%
1988 45.5% 19.5%
1989 45.6% 18.8%
1990 45.7% 18%
1991 45.8% 17.4%
1992 45.9% 16.9%
1993 46% 16.4%
1994 46.3% 16%
1995 46.5% 15.6%
1996 46.7% 15.3%
1997 46.9% 15.1%
1998 46.9% 14.8%
1999 46.9% 14.6%
2000 46.8% 14.4%
2001 46.7% 14.2%
2002 46.6% 14.1%
2003 46.4% 13.9%
2004 46.1% 13.8%
2005 45.9% 13.8%
2006 45.6% 13.7%
2007 45.3% 13.6%
2008 45.1% 13.5%
2009 44.8% 13.5%
2010 44.5% 13.4%
2011 44.3% 13.3%
2012 44.1% 13.2%
2013 43.9% 13.1%
2014 43.7% 13%
2015 43.6% 12.8%
2016 43.3% 12.7%
2017 43.1% 12.6%
2018 42.8% 12.5%
2019 42.4% 12.4%
2020 42% 12.2%
2021 41.6% 12%
2022 41.2% 11.9%
2023 40.7% 11.6%
2024 40.2% 11.4%
2025 39.7% 11.2%
2026 39.2% 11%
2027 38.5% 10.9%
2028 37.9% 10.7%
2029 37.3% 10.5%
2030 36.7% 10.4%
2031 36.2% 10.3%
2032 35.7% 10.2%
2033 35.2% 10.1%
2034 34.8% 10.1%
2035 34.3% 10.1%
2036 33.9% 10.1%
2037 33.4% 10.1%
2038 33% 10.2%
2039 32.5% 10.3%
2040 32.1% 10.4%
2041 31.7% 10.5%
2042 31.3% 10.6%
2043 30.9% 10.7%
2044 30.5% 10.8%
2045 30.2% 10.9%
2046 29.8% 11%
2047 29.5% 11.1%
2048 29.1% 11.2%
2049 28.8% 11.2%
2050 28.4% 11.2%

Children aged 0-14 make up 40.2% of the population in the Gambia and 11.4% in Japan in 2024, compared to 45.7% and 18% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of the Gambia and Japan compared.

Natural population change in Gambia vs Japan by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +2.59% in the Gambia and -0.41% in Japan. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Gambia
Japan

Natural population change

Year Population change due to births and deaths
Gambia Japan
1960 8,420 894,874
1961 8,778 893,522
1962 9,150 901,864
1963 9,493 987,770
1964 9,825 1,046,553
1965 10,162 1,126,448
1966 10,422 682,072
1967 10,823 1,258,475
1968 11,215 1,191,930
1969 11,670 1,195,962
1970 12,128 1,230,496
1971 12,842 1,331,782
1972 13,432 1,372,006
1973 14,046 1,391,449
1974 14,628 1,332,960
1975 15,256 1,204,989
1976 16,032 1,127,750
1977 16,773 1,070,397
1978 17,424 1,011,234
1979 18,543 950,298
1980 19,566 864,372
1981 20,156 811,861
1982 21,894 805,664
1983 23,175 775,495
1984 24,586 756,523
1985 25,795 676,687
1986 27,195 631,706
1987 28,452 598,138
1988 29,938 527,085
1989 31,504 467,662
1990 33,163 407,478
1991 34,584 396,685
1992 35,951 360,833
1993 37,302 312,073
1994 38,880 363,017
1995 39,681 276,039
1996 40,253 314,392
1997 40,742 277,325
1998 41,842 265,440
1999 42,533 202,610
2000 43,249 228,317
2001 44,154 203,438
2002 45,156 178,423
2003 46,473 114,946
2004 48,276 76,656
2005 50,010 -25,554
2006 52,335 12,785
2007 53,653 -25,600
2008 55,032 -51,225
2009 56,575 -76,828
2010 58,554 -128,070
2011 60,571 -204,533
2012 62,745 -229,733
2013 63,510 -242,146
2014 63,185 -267,279
2015 62,832 -292,424
2016 62,358 -343,106
2017 61,665 -406,310
2018 60,854 -456,520
2019 61,701 -531,858
2020 62,209 -542,923
2021 62,239 -640,976
2022 63,634 -825,825
2023 65,118 -871,617

Fertility rates around the globe

Fertility rate

Maternal mortality chart: Gambia vs Japan

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 354 deaths per 100,000 live births in the Gambia, compared to 3 deaths in Japan.

Gambia
Japan
Year Maternal mortality per 100K births
Gambia Japan
1985 1,454 19
1986 1,401 18
1987 1,360 17
1988 1,302 16
1989 1,258 15
1990 1,207 14
1991 1,167 13
1992 1,115 13
1993 1,072 12
1994 1,039 11
1995 999 11
1996 956 11
1997 928 10
1998 867 10
1999 830 9
2000 810 9
2001 794 8
2002 772 8
2003 749 8
2004 719 7
2005 707 7
2006 682 7
2007 675 6
2008 653 6
2009 634 6
2010 632 6
2011 634 6
2012 628 6
2013 606 5
2014 561 5
2015 527 5
2016 490 5
2017 469 5
2018 450 5
2019 422 5
2020 400 4
2021 420 4
2022 365 5
2023 354 3

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 4.41% in the Gambia and 0.24% in Japan. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Gambia
Japan

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
Gambia Japan
1960 36.2% 3.97%
1961 35.5% 3.62%
1962 34.8% 3.29%
1963 34.1% 2.98%
1964 33.5% 2.7%
1965 32.8% 2.46%
1966 32.1% 2.26%
1967 31.5% 2.1%
1968 30.9% 1.96%
1969 30.2% 1.85%
1970 29.5% 1.75%
1971 28.9% 1.65%
1972 28.2% 1.57%
1973 27.5% 1.49%
1974 26.9% 1.41%
1975 26.2% 1.33%
1976 25.5% 1.25%
1977 24.9% 1.18%
1978 24.2% 1.11%
1979 23.6% 1.05%
1980 23% 0.99%
1981 22.3% 0.93%
1982 21.7% 0.88%
1983 21% 0.83%
1984 20.4% 0.79%
1985 19.7% 0.75%
1986 19.1% 0.71%
1987 18.4% 0.68%
1988 17.8% 0.66%
1989 17.2% 0.64%
1990 16.6% 0.63%
1991 16% 0.62%
1992 15.5% 0.61%
1993 14.9% 0.6%
1994 14.4% 0.59%
1995 13.9% 0.57%
1996 13.3% 0.55%
1997 12.8% 0.52%
1998 12.3% 0.5%
1999 11.8% 0.47%
2000 11.3% 0.45%
2001 10.9% 0.43%
2002 10.4% 0.41%
2003 9.95% 0.4%
2004 9.52% 0.39%
2005 9.11% 0.37%
2006 8.71% 0.36%
2007 8.33% 0.35%
2008 7.98% 0.34%
2009 7.64% 0.34%
2010 7.31% 0.33%
2011 7.01% 0.33%
2012 6.73% 0.31%
2013 6.45% 0.3%
2014 6.18% 0.29%
2015 5.93% 0.28%
2016 5.7% 0.27%
2017 5.47% 0.26%
2018 5.27% 0.25%
2019 5.07% 0.25%
2020 4.89% 0.24%
2021 4.72% 0.24%
2022 4.56% 0.24%
2023 4.41% 0.24%

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Birth rate comparisons

Birth rate vs Gambia vs Japan
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