Zambia birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in Zambia chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in Zambia is 4.1, which is above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. In 1993, the fertility rate was 6.3 — a -34.9% decline in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Zambia	World
1960	6.95	4.69
1961	6.98	4.56
1962	7.01	5.02
1963	7.06	5.31
1964	7.09	5.13
1965	7.12	5.08
1966	7.14	4.97
1967	7.15	4.87
1968	7.18	4.98
1969	7.18	4.88
1970	7.22	4.84
1971	7.26	4.69
1972	7.3	4.55
1973	7.34	4.42
1974	7.36	4.26
1975	7.42	4.07
1976	7.39	3.97
1977	7.35	3.84
1978	7.29	3.77
1979	7.22	3.76
1980	7.14	3.73
1981	7.07	3.71
1982	7.04	3.72
1983	7.01	3.59
1984	6.97	3.57
1985	6.93	3.53
1986	6.87	3.51
1987	6.8	3.48
1988	6.7	3.39
1989	6.64	3.35
1990	6.57	3.31
1991	6.46	3.13
1992	6.35	3.04
1993	6.3	2.97
1994	6.26	2.92
1995	6.23	2.87
1996	6.18	2.82
1997	6.12	2.78
1998	6.07	2.75
1999	6	2.72
2000	5.92	2.73
2001	5.85	2.69
2002	5.77	2.66
2003	5.71	2.64
2004	5.7	2.63
2005	5.7	2.61
2006	5.68	2.61
2007	5.61	2.6
2008	5.53	2.6
2009	5.45	2.59
2010	5.36	2.57
2011	5.26	2.55
2012	5.14	2.56
2013	5.01	2.53
2014	4.89	2.52
2015	4.78	2.49
2016	4.67	2.49
2017	4.57	2.46
2018	4.49	2.39
2019	4.42	2.35
2020	4.32	2.28
2021	4.25	2.25
2022	4.18	2.22
2023	4.1	2.2
2024	4.04	2.19
2025	3.97	2.18
2026	3.91	2.18
2027	3.85	2.17
2028	3.77	2.16
2029	3.72	2.15
2030	3.67	2.14
2031	3.61	2.13
2032	3.56	2.12
2033	3.5	2.12
2034	3.45	2.11
2035	3.4	2.1
2036	3.35	2.09
2037	3.3	2.09
2038	3.25	2.08
2039	3.19	2.08
2040	3.15	2.08
2041	3.11	2.07
2042	3.07	2.07
2043	3.03	2.07
2044	3	2.07
2045	2.96	2.06
2046	2.93	2.06
2047	2.9	2.06
2048	2.87	2.05
2049	2.84	2.05
2050	2.81	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 20.2% were to women under 20 years old, 48.3% to women ages 20-29, and 31.5% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 18.7%, 50.7%, and 30.6% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in Zambia by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	Zambia	World
1960	46%	37.4%
1961	46.2%	37.5%
1962	46.3%	37.6%
1963	46.5%	37.8%
1964	46.7%	38%
1965	46.9%	38%
1966	46.9%	38%
1967	47%	38%
1968	47.1%	37.9%
1969	47.2%	37.8%
1970	47.4%	37.7%
1971	47.7%	37.6%
1972	48%	37.5%
1973	48.3%	37.3%
1974	48.6%	37.2%
1975	48.8%	37.1%
1976	49.1%	36.9%
1977	49.2%	36.7%
1978	49.4%	36.3%
1979	49.5%	35.9%
1980	49.5%	35.5%
1981	49.4%	35.2%
1982	49.3%	34.9%
1983	49.1%	34.6%
1984	49%	34.3%
1985	48.9%	34%
1986	48.8%	33.8%
1987	48.7%	33.6%
1988	48.6%	33.4%
1989	48.5%	33.2%
1990	48.4%	33%
1991	48.3%	32.9%
1992	48.2%	32.7%
1993	48.2%	32.5%
1994	48.2%	32.3%
1995	48.2%	32.1%
1996	48.2%	31.8%
1997	48.2%	31.5%
1998	48.2%	31.1%
1999	48.1%	30.8%
2000	48%	30.4%
2001	47.8%	30%
2002	47.6%	29.6%
2003	47.4%	29.2%
2004	47.3%	28.8%
2005	47.1%	28.5%
2006	47%	28.1%
2007	46.8%	27.9%
2008	46.6%	27.6%
2009	46.4%	27.5%
2010	46.3%	27.3%
2011	46.1%	27.1%
2012	45.9%	27%
2013	45.7%	26.9%
2014	45.5%	26.8%
2015	45.2%	26.6%
2016	44.9%	26.5%
2017	44.5%	26.4%
2018	44.1%	26.2%
2019	43.8%	26%
2020	43.3%	25.8%
2021	42.9%	25.6%
2022	42.4%	25.3%
2023	42%	25%
2024	41.5%	24.7%
2025	41%	24.4%
2026	40.5%	24.1%
2027	40%	23.8%
2028	39.6%	23.4%
2029	39.2%	23.1%
2030	38.8%	22.8%
2031	38.5%	22.6%
2032	38.1%	22.3%
2033	37.8%	22.1%
2034	37.5%	21.9%
2035	37.1%	21.7%
2036	36.8%	21.6%
2037	36.5%	21.5%
2038	36.1%	21.4%
2039	35.8%	21.3%
2040	35.4%	21.2%
2041	35.1%	21.1%
2042	34.7%	21%
2043	34.4%	21%
2044	34%	20.9%
2045	33.7%	20.8%
2046	33.3%	20.7%
2047	33%	20.7%
2048	32.6%	20.6%
2049	32.3%	20.5%
2050	32%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Zambia was 46% in 1960, 48.2% in 1993, and 41.5% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of Zambia.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in Zambia, excluding migration, has been +2.87% annually. On average, 523,379 more people were born each year than died.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Zambia
1960	102,335
1961	106,318
1962	110,173
1963	114,555
1964	117,197
1965	122,814
1966	127,164
1967	131,938
1968	137,315
1969	142,660
1970	149,380
1971	155,249
1972	161,648
1973	168,258
1974	174,484
1975	182,258
1976	186,762
1977	191,557
1978	194,933
1979	197,578
1980	198,817
1981	202,822
1982	207,621
1983	212,712
1984	216,695
1985	221,351
1986	224,768
1987	227,813
1988	230,118
1989	233,429
1990	235,835
1991	237,957
1992	239,953
1993	245,917
1994	252,023
1995	257,897
1996	262,468
1997	268,198
1998	275,568
1999	283,297
2000	293,186
2001	302,682
2002	316,041
2003	331,189
2004	349,352
2005	368,756
2006	387,891
2007	403,729
2008	419,560
2009	434,458
2010	448,337
2011	459,743
2012	469,406
2013	476,846
2014	483,663
2015	491,021
2016	497,521
2017	504,630
2018	515,644
2019	528,089
2020	536,484
2021	535,629
2022	563,456
2023	577,660

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in Zambia was 85 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.09% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a -75% decrease compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Zambia	World
1985	596	460
1986	619	438
1987	630	429
1988	635	414
1989	635	401
1990	625	391
1991	611	395
1992	581	395
1993	532	389
1994	507	382
1995	466	371
1996	433	366
1997	403	358
1998	392	360
1999	378	340
2000	340	328
2001	306	321
2002	274	311
2003	250	301
2004	260	291
2005	264	283
2006	262	276
2007	324	269
2008	394	264
2009	406	258
2010	332	253
2011	291	247
2012	256	239
2013	213	235
2014	174	231
2015	154	228
2016	158	220
2017	141	215
2018	117	211
2019	103	207
2020	99	211
2021	140	242
2022	89	203
2023	85	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in Zambia was 44.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 4.47% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 152.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Zambia	World
1960	20.5%	18.5%
1961	20.1%	18.1%
1962	19.8%	17.8%
1963	19.5%	17.5%
1964	19.2%	17.7%
1965	19%	17.5%
1966	18.9%	17.3%
1967	18.7%	17%
1968	18.5%	16.5%
1969	18.3%	15.5%
1970	17.9%	15.2%
1971	17.4%	15.1%
1972	16.9%	14.4%
1973	16.3%	14.1%
1974	15.9%	13.7%
1975	15.5%	13.4%
1976	15.4%	13%
1977	15.3%	12.5%
1978	15.3%	12.1%
1979	15.4%	11.7%
1980	15.5%	11.4%
1981	15.6%	11%
1982	15.7%	10.8%
1983	15.9%	10.6%
1984	16.2%	10.4%
1985	16.6%	10.1%
1986	17%	9.81%
1987	17.3%	9.47%
1988	17.7%	9.31%
1989	17.9%	9.02%
1990	18.1%	8.81%
1991	18.1%	8.66%
1992	18.1%	8.46%
1993	17.9%	8.19%
1994	17.7%	7.98%
1995	17.3%	7.76%
1996	17%	7.52%
1997	16.7%	7.28%
1998	16.3%	7.05%
1999	15.9%	6.76%
2000	15.3%	6.48%
2001	14.4%	6.21%
2002	13.4%	5.94%
2003	12.4%	5.65%
2004	11.4%	5.43%
2005	10.5%	5.16%
2006	9.71%	4.92%
2007	9.14%	4.7%
2008	8.62%	4.5%
2009	8%	4.31%
2010	7.57%	4.11%
2011	7.31%	3.97%
2012	7.04%	3.77%
2013	6.72%	3.61%
2014	6.38%	3.48%
2015	6.15%	3.35%
2016	5.9%	3.23%
2017	5.61%	3.11%
2018	5.52%	2.97%
2019	5.41%	2.86%
2020	5.24%	2.75%
2021	4.92%	2.66%
2022	4.67%	2.59%
2023	4.47%	2.49%