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Fertility & birth rates in Lesotho and Uruguay

Updated on by Georank team

Lesotho has an annual birth rate of 24.1 births per 1,000 people, compared to 9.87 for Uruguay. The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — the fertility rate, is 2.69 in Lesotho and 1.41 in Uruguay — 47.7% difference.

1960 vs 2023, the fertility rate has decreased by -53.4% in Lesotho and by -50.2% in Uruguay — in 1960, it was 5.78 and 2.83, respectively.

Birth rates facts compared:

  • Lesotho is ranked 56/196 by birth rate compared to 149/196 for Uruguay.
  • The mean age at childbearing (for all the births, not just the first) is 27.9 in Lesotho — it's 29.4 in Uruguay.
  • Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 (adolescent birth rate or teenage mother rate) is 70.6 in Lesotho vs 26.2 in Uruguay.
  • In Lesotho, 27.8% of the population is composed of women of reproductive age (15-49), compared to 24% in Uruguay.
  • Excluding migration, the natural population change due to births and deaths from 2022 to 2023 was +1.35% in Lesotho and +0.009% in Uruguay.

Birth rate data compared

Lesotho Uruguay
Fertility rate 2.69 1.41
Birth rate 24.1 9.87
Birth rate rank 56/196 149/196
Age at first childbirth 20.9 years n/a
Average age at childbearing 27.9 years 29.4 years
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 69.1 24.1
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 20-29 134.4 61
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 30+ 38.1 14.2
Female of reproductive age (15-49), share of population 27.8% 24%
Any modern method of contraceptive prevalence among married women ages 15-49 65.3% 74.8%
Share of births attended by skilled health staff 86.6% 100%
Maternal mortality per live birth 0.48% 0.02%
Neonatal mortality rate (before reaching 28 days of age) 2.87% 0.41%
Infant mortality rate (before reaching 1 year of age) 5.54% 0.55%
Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births 5.89% 0.67%
Population change due to births and deaths +31,115 +298
Natural population change rank 103/196 149/196
Natural population change rate +1.35% +0.009%
Population growth +1.12% -0.04%
Population growth rank 96/197 169/197
Life expectancy 58.2 years 78.5 years

Fertility rate in Lesotho vs Uruguay chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in Lesotho was 2.69 children per woman in 2023, compared to 1.41 in Uruguay in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check Lesotho vs Uruguay population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Lesotho
Factual

UN forecast
Uruguay
Factual

UN forecast

Births per woman

Year Fertility rate
Lesotho Uruguay
1960 5.78 2.83
1961 5.79 2.85
1962 5.79 2.87
1963 5.78 2.88
1964 5.77 2.86
1965 5.77 2.84
1966 5.76 2.82
1967 5.75 2.78
1968 5.73 2.77
1969 5.7 2.77
1970 5.7 2.77
1971 5.7 2.77
1972 5.69 2.78
1973 5.69 2.86
1974 5.75 2.96
1975 5.83 3.02
1976 5.87 3.01
1977 5.85 2.9
1978 5.82 2.83
1979 5.79 2.71
1980 5.75 2.59
1981 5.69 2.53
1982 5.63 2.51
1983 5.56 2.49
1984 5.48 2.47
1985 5.4 2.47
1986 5.32 2.47
1987 5.22 2.49
1988 5.1 2.5
1989 4.96 2.5
1990 4.81 2.48
1991 4.68 2.45
1992 4.54 2.43
1993 4.37 2.41
1994 4.21 2.42
1995 4.13 2.4
1996 4.06 2.36
1997 3.98 2.33
1998 3.82 2.27
1999 3.67 2.25
2000 3.61 2.2
2001 3.63 2.16
2002 3.68 2.16
2003 3.62 2.12
2004 3.51 2.09
2005 3.43 2.1
2006 3.41 2.07
2007 3.44 2.05
2008 3.39 2.03
2009 3.31 2.02
2010 3.25 2.01
2011 3.34 1.99
2012 3.3 2.01
2013 3.28 2.03
2014 3.24 2.03
2015 3.22 2.04
2016 3.18 1.97
2017 3.11 1.82
2018 3.02 1.68
2019 2.92 1.57
2020 2.85 1.5
2021 2.77 1.45
2022 2.72 1.43
2023 2.69 1.41
2024 2.66 1.4
2025 2.64 1.39
2026 2.61 1.38
2027 2.58 1.38
2028 2.55 1.38
2029 2.53 1.38
2030 2.5 1.38
2031 2.47 1.39
2032 2.45 1.39
2033 2.43 1.39
2034 2.41 1.39
2035 2.38 1.4
2036 2.37 1.4
2037 2.34 1.4
2038 2.32 1.4
2039 2.3 1.41
2040 2.29 1.41
2041 2.27 1.41
2042 2.25 1.42
2043 2.24 1.42
2044 2.22 1.42
2045 2.21 1.42
2046 2.19 1.42
2047 2.18 1.43
2048 2.17 1.43
2049 2.16 1.43
2050 2.14 1.44

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Lesotho
Factual

UN forecast
Uruguay
Factual

UN forecast
Year Share of people 0-14 years old
Lesotho Uruguay
1960 45.1% 27.6%
1961 45.2% 27.6%
1962 45.3% 27.7%
1963 45.2% 27.8%
1964 44.9% 27.9%
1965 44.8% 27.9%
1966 44.9% 28%
1967 44.8% 28%
1968 44.4% 27.9%
1969 44% 27.8%
1970 43.6% 27.8%
1971 43.1% 27.7%
1972 42.7% 27.5%
1973 42.3% 27.4%
1974 41.9% 27.4%
1975 41.6% 27.4%
1976 41.4% 27.4%
1977 41.5% 27.3%
1978 41.7% 27.3%
1979 41.9% 27.2%
1980 42.1% 27%
1981 42.3% 26.9%
1982 42.5% 26.7%
1983 42.7% 26.6%
1984 42.8% 26.5%
1985 43% 26.4%
1986 42.7% 26.2%
1987 42.5% 26.1%
1988 42.7% 26%
1989 42.8% 25.8%
1990 42.9% 25.6%
1991 42.9% 25.3%
1992 42.8% 25.1%
1993 42.6% 24.9%
1994 42.3% 24.7%
1995 42% 24.7%
1996 41.7% 24.6%
1997 41.2% 24.6%
1998 40.7% 24.5%
1999 40.2% 24.5%
2000 39.6% 24.4%
2001 39.1% 24.2%
2002 38.6% 24.1%
2003 38.1% 23.9%
2004 37.7% 23.7%
2005 37.4% 23.5%
2006 37.1% 23.3%
2007 36.8% 23.1%
2008 36.7% 22.8%
2009 36.6% 22.6%
2010 36.5% 22.3%
2011 36.5% 22%
2012 36.5% 21.7%
2013 36.5% 21.5%
2014 36.6% 21.3%
2015 36.6% 21.1%
2016 36.6% 21%
2017 36.5% 20.8%
2018 36.3% 20.5%
2019 36.1% 20.2%
2020 35.8% 19.8%
2021 35.6% 19.4%
2022 35.3% 19.1%
2023 34.9% 18.7%
2024 34.5% 18.3%
2025 34.1% 17.9%
2026 33.6% 17.5%
2027 33.1% 17.1%
2028 32.6% 16.7%
2029 32% 16.3%
2030 31.5% 15.8%
2031 31% 15.4%
2032 30.5% 15.1%
2033 30.1% 14.8%
2034 29.7% 14.7%
2035 29.3% 14.6%
2036 29% 14.5%
2037 28.8% 14.5%
2038 28.5% 14.4%
2039 28.3% 14.4%
2040 28.1% 14.3%
2041 27.8% 14.3%
2042 27.6% 14.3%
2043 27.4% 14.2%
2044 27.1% 14.1%
2045 26.9% 14.1%
2046 26.7% 14%
2047 26.4% 13.9%
2048 26.2% 13.8%
2049 25.9% 13.7%
2050 25.7% 13.6%

Children aged 0-14 make up 34.5% of the population in Lesotho and 18.3% in Uruguay in 2024, compared to 42.9% and 25.6% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of Lesotho and Uruguay compared.

Natural population change in Lesotho vs Uruguay by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +1.44% in Lesotho and +0.19% in Uruguay. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Lesotho
Uruguay

Natural population change

Year Population change due to births and deaths
Lesotho Uruguay
1960 19,981 30,438
1961 20,581 30,975
1962 21,132 31,441
1963 21,585 31,824
1964 22,116 31,340
1965 22,755 30,807
1966 23,326 30,293
1967 23,911 29,514
1968 24,490 29,103
1969 25,137 28,805
1970 25,935 28,737
1971 26,838 28,584
1972 27,841 28,896
1973 28,859 30,213
1974 30,444 32,221
1975 32,311 33,393
1976 34,117 33,199
1977 35,654 31,321
1978 37,084 30,076
1979 38,440 27,456
1980 39,617 25,451
1981 40,808 24,968
1982 41,941 25,224
1983 42,899 24,146
1984 43,785 23,684
1985 44,575 23,988
1986 45,232 24,505
1987 47,718 24,469
1988 47,158 25,071
1989 46,264 25,322
1990 45,060 25,699
1991 44,026 25,422
1992 42,579 24,847
1993 40,505 24,212
1994 38,629 24,637
1995 37,370 24,872
1996 36,228 24,635
1997 34,637 23,737
1998 30,889 22,114
1999 27,393 21,844
2000 24,786 21,060
2001 23,190 20,729
2002 22,274 20,073
2003 20,133 18,628
2004 17,271 18,067
2005 15,831 18,926
2006 15,234 17,783
2007 17,763 17,422
2008 19,349 16,838
2009 20,335 16,947
2010 21,877 16,231
2011 25,647 14,934
2012 27,592 15,520
2013 29,789 16,318
2014 30,922 16,238
2015 32,087 16,194
2016 33,390 14,008
2017 33,601 10,907
2018 33,112 7,322
2019 32,279 3,873
2020 30,721 4,048
2021 27,806 -5,621
2022 30,803 -2,964
2023 31,115 298

Fertility rates around the globe

Fertility rate

Maternal mortality chart: Lesotho vs Uruguay

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 478 deaths per 100,000 live births in Lesotho, compared to 15 deaths in Uruguay.

Lesotho
Uruguay
Year Maternal mortality per 100K births
Lesotho Uruguay
1985 711 41
1986 680 41
1987 686 41
1988 680 39
1989 680 36
1990 665 35
1991 641 33
1992 601 33
1993 542 31
1994 423 30
1995 357 29
1996 319 28
1997 312 27
1998 332 25
1999 371 24
2000 413 23
2001 465 24
2002 484 23
2003 508 23
2004 499 21
2005 549 20
2006 696 20
2007 891 19
2008 1,205 19
2009 1,387 18
2010 1,311 17
2011 1,210 17
2012 1,000 16
2013 855 16
2014 707 16
2015 594 16
2016 518 16
2017 468 16
2018 491 16
2019 467 16
2020 529 20
2021 577 49
2022 477 20
2023 478 15

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 5.89% in Lesotho and 0.67% in Uruguay. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Lesotho
Uruguay

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
Lesotho Uruguay
1960 18.6% 6.33%
1961 18.5% 6.21%
1962 18.5% 6.06%
1963 18.6% 5.93%
1964 18.6% 5.83%
1965 18.7% 5.77%
1966 18.6% 5.74%
1967 18.5% 5.7%
1968 18.3% 5.64%
1969 18% 5.53%
1970 17.7% 5.4%
1971 17.3% 5.33%
1972 16.9% 5.34%
1973 16.5% 5.39%
1974 16% 5.46%
1975 15.5% 5.49%
1976 14.9% 5.41%
1977 14.2% 5.18%
1978 13.6% 4.83%
1979 12.9% 4.41%
1980 12.3% 3.98%
1981 11.7% 3.6%
1982 11.1% 3.31%
1983 10.6% 3.1%
1984 10.1% 2.95%
1985 9.72% 2.84%
1986 9.36% 2.74%
1987 9.06% 2.62%
1988 8.8% 2.51%
1989 8.6% 2.42%
1990 8.47% 2.37%
1991 8.43% 2.32%
1992 8.51% 2.29%
1993 8.73% 2.25%
1994 9.07% 2.19%
1995 9.45% 2.12%
1996 9.83% 2.03%
1997 10.2% 1.93%
1998 10.5% 1.84%
1999 10.7% 1.76%
2000 10.9% 1.7%
2001 11.1% 1.66%
2002 11.2% 1.62%
2003 11.4% 1.58%
2004 11.5% 1.52%
2005 11.6% 1.44%
2006 11.5% 1.35%
2007 11.2% 1.27%
2008 10.9% 1.19%
2009 9.64% 1.13%
2010 9.01% 1.08%
2011 8.59% 1.04%
2012 8.26% 1%
2013 8.02% 0.97%
2014 7.82% 0.93%
2015 7.51% 0.89%
2016 7.18% 0.85%
2017 7.12% 0.81%
2018 6.91% 0.77%
2019 6.87% 0.74%
2020 6.68% 0.71%
2021 6.44% 0.7%
2022 6.15% 0.68%
2023 5.89% 0.67%

Compare countries by 7 more topics

Birth rate comparisons

Birth rate vs Lesotho vs Uruguay
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