Every four minutes, there are an estimated 1,000 births on Earth. But where are these babies most likely to be born statistically? Data from the CIA's World Factbook, reproduced by Visual Capitalist, provides a picture of global demographics, showing the number of babies born per continent per 1,000 births worldwide (based on estimated 2022 populations and birth rates). For four major regions shown on our map, the top five countries in terms of birth rate are also shown.
With a population of about 1.4 billion, and a still relatively high birth rate (more than 2 children per woman), it is not surprising that India is in first place. For every 1,000 babies that enter the world, about 172 are born in the South Asian country. China - which is about to be overtaken by India as the most populous nation - ranks second with 103 births per 1,000. This is double the number of births in all of Europe (including Russia), where there are 52 newborns per 1,000.
After Asia, which accounts for slightly more than half of all births worldwide, it is Africa that hosts the most newborns on Earth. The countries with the highest number of births on this continent are Nigeria, with 57 babies per 1,000 born in the world, DR Congo (32 per 1,000) and Ethiopia (25 per 1,000).