map placeholder
Click on a country for details.
Population Policy/Goal (Pro-Natalist or Other) 2015-2019

Lower

Maintain

No policy

Raise (Pronatalist)

Pro-Natalist Countries / Countries with Low Birth Rates 2024

Pro-natalist countries are countries with low birth rates and policies that they implement as a means of increasing the birth rates. When a country has a very slow rate of births and a fast rate of aging, it may become a pro-natalist country in order to keep the population growth steady. This is for a variety of reasons; to increase tax revenue, improve the economy, and to keep families stable overall.

The United Nations indicates that many countries are in this position right now, and the number of pro-natalist countries in the world is increasing annually. It is estimated that the number of countries that have adopted pro-natalist policies has risen from 10 to 15 percent between 2001 and 2015. Some countries that have these policies will provide extra income to families as support to larger families, and as an incentive to have more children.

Countries With Low Birth Rates

There is a long list of countries with low birth rates, and a long list of pro-natalist countries. The list of countries with pro-natalist policies is always changing, and some governments adopt moderate pro-natalist policies to meet the best of both worlds. Many governments have party factions that do not want to give money to people with more children, and moderate pro-natalist policy is typically the answer.

The most well-known pro-natalist countries include many countries in Europe, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Greece, Singapore, Spain, Italy, and many countries in Europe. France is a country with a low birth rate and so is Germany. However, Germany has hesitated to adopt the pro-natalist policy. Instead, Germany provides a generous two-parent family leave program when there is a new member of the family.

What are Pro Natalist Policies?

A pro-natalist policy is one that the government enacts in order to aid in the support of families, and also increase the fertility rates of a country. The aim is to ensure economic stability both in the short term and in the long term. The most common form of pro-natalist policy comes in the form of a child tax credit benefit, which is typically a payment made to qualifying families with children of eligible age. Other tax credits can be included in the policy of pro-natalist countries.

Another goal is to control population size, but also to ensure population growth. Europe is known for its pro-natalist policy with France, Iran, and Sweden all assisting families of children. When the country’s population rates are slowing, legislators in pro-natalist countries will work to implement policy to help the population now and ensure economic growth in the future.

  • As of 2019, more than 60% of governments globally had implemented policies designed to influence the current level of fertility. Another 19 governments were aiming to maintain their current fertility level, albeit with a growing number adopting pronatalist measures (55 countries or areas out of 143 countries or areas with such policies). Many governments have adopted implicit or explicit pronatalist family policies, such as offering baby bonuses and parental leave and/or tax incentives as well as housing and income allowances related to the birth of a child. Subsidized fertility treatment, long-term job guarantees for new mothers/parents, and affordable childcare and after-school care are some of the additional incentives adopted to raise fertility.
Country
Population Policy/Goal (Pro-Natalist or Other) 2015-2019
Total Fertility Rate (Avg. Births Per Woman) 2015-2020
ChinaRaise (Pronatalist)1.7
RussiaRaise (Pronatalist)1.8
JapanRaise (Pronatalist)1.4
IranRaise (Pronatalist)2.2
TurkeyRaise (Pronatalist)2.1
ThailandRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
FranceRaise (Pronatalist)1.9
ItalyRaise (Pronatalist)1.3
South KoreaRaise (Pronatalist)1.1
SpainRaise (Pronatalist)1.3
PolandRaise (Pronatalist)1.4
UkraineRaise (Pronatalist)1.4
Saudi ArabiaRaise (Pronatalist)2.3
North KoreaRaise (Pronatalist)1.9
KazakhstanRaise (Pronatalist)2.8
ChileRaise (Pronatalist)1.7
RomaniaRaise (Pronatalist)1.6
South SudanRaise (Pronatalist)4.7
CubaRaise (Pronatalist)1.6
GreeceRaise (Pronatalist)1.3
PortugalRaise (Pronatalist)1.3
HungaryRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
United Arab EmiratesRaise (Pronatalist)1.4
BelarusRaise (Pronatalist)1.7
IsraelRaise (Pronatalist)3
AustriaRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
SerbiaRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
KyrgyzstanRaise (Pronatalist)3
BulgariaRaise (Pronatalist)1.6
TurkmenistanRaise (Pronatalist)2.8
SingaporeRaise (Pronatalist)1.2
SlovakiaRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
FinlandRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
KuwaitRaise (Pronatalist)2.1
CroatiaRaise (Pronatalist)1.4
GeorgiaRaise (Pronatalist)2.1
MongoliaRaise (Pronatalist)2.9
MoldovaRaise (Pronatalist)1.3
AlbaniaRaise (Pronatalist)1.6
ArmeniaRaise (Pronatalist)1.8
QatarRaise (Pronatalist)1.9
LithuaniaRaise (Pronatalist)1.7
GabonRaise (Pronatalist)4
North MacedoniaRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
LatviaRaise (Pronatalist)1.7
EstoniaRaise (Pronatalist)1.6
MauritiusRaise (Pronatalist)1.4
CyprusRaise (Pronatalist)1.3
GuyanaRaise (Pronatalist)2.5
LuxembourgRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
MaltaRaise (Pronatalist)1.5
LiechtensteinRaise (Pronatalist)
Cook IslandsRaise (Pronatalist)
NiueRaise (Pronatalist)
Vatican CityRaise (Pronatalist)
United StatesNo policy1.8
BrazilNo policy1.7
GermanyNo policy1.6
United KingdomNo policy1.8
South AfricaNo policy2.4
MyanmarNo policy2.2
SudanNo policy4.4
IraqNo policy3.7
CanadaNo policy1.5
UzbekistanNo policy2.4
MalaysiaNo policy2
VenezuelaNo policy2.3
AustraliaNo policy1.8
Sri LankaNo policy2.2
SomaliaNo policy6.1
GuatemalaNo policy2.9
NetherlandsNo policy1.7
CambodiaNo policy2.5
HondurasNo policy2.5
SwedenNo policy1.9
Czech RepublicNo policy1.6
SwitzerlandNo policy1.5
LaosNo policy2.7
LibyaNo policy2.3
Republic of the CongoNo policy4.5
DenmarkNo policy1.8
Central African RepublicNo policy4.8
LiberiaNo policy4.4
NorwayNo policy1.7
PalestineNo policy3.7
New ZealandNo policy1.9
Costa RicaNo policy1.8
LebanonNo policy2.1
IrelandNo policy1.8
PanamaNo policy2.5
UruguayNo policy2
Bosnia and HerzegovinaNo policy1.3
NamibiaNo policy3.4
SloveniaNo policy1.6
SurinameNo policy2.4
MaldivesNo policy1.9
BruneiNo policy1.8
BelizeNo policy2.3
BahamasNo policy1.8
BarbadosNo policy1.6
Sao Tome and PrincipeNo policy4.4
Saint LuciaNo policy1.4
SeychellesNo policy2.5
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesNo policy1.9
Antigua and BarbudaNo policy2
DominicaNo policy
Saint Kitts and NevisNo policy
San MarinoNo policy
PalauNo policy
VietnamMaintain2.1
TanzaniaMaintain4.9
ColombiaMaintain1.8
ArgentinaMaintain2.3
MoroccoMaintain2.4
BoliviaMaintain2.8
TunisiaMaintain2.2
BelgiumMaintain1.7
AzerbaijanMaintain2.1
ParaguayMaintain2.4
OmanMaintain2.9
BotswanaMaintain2.9
Trinidad and TobagoMaintain1.7
IcelandMaintain1.8
GrenadaMaintain2.1
TongaMaintain3.6
AndorraMaintain
MonacoMaintain
NauruMaintain
IndiaLower2.2
IndonesiaLower2.3
PakistanLower3.6
NigeriaLower5.4
BangladeshLower2.1
EthiopiaLower4.3
MexicoLower2.1
PhilippinesLower2.6
EgyptLower3.3
DR CongoLower6
KenyaLower3.5
UgandaLower5
AlgeriaLower3.1
AfghanistanLower4.6
AngolaLower5.6
YemenLower3.8
MozambiqueLower4.9
GhanaLower3.9
PeruLower2.3
NepalLower1.9
MadagascarLower4.1
Ivory CoastLower4.7
CameroonLower4.6
NigerLower7
SyriaLower2.8
MaliLower5.9
Burkina FasoLower5.2
MalawiLower4.3
ZambiaLower4.7
ChadLower5.8
EcuadorLower2.4
SenegalLower4.7
ZimbabweLower3.6
GuineaLower4.7
RwandaLower4.1
BeninLower4.9
BurundiLower5.5
HaitiLower3
Dominican RepublicLower2.4
JordanLower2.8
Papua New GuineaLower3.6
TajikistanLower3.6
TogoLower4.4
Sierra LeoneLower4.3
NicaraguaLower2.4
El SalvadorLower2.1
MauritaniaLower4.6
EritreaLower4.1
GambiaLower5.3
JamaicaLower2
LesothoLower3.2
Guinea BissauLower4.5
Equatorial GuineaLower4.6
BahrainLower2
Timor LesteLower4.1
EswatiniLower3
DjiboutiLower2.8
FijiLower2.8
ComorosLower4.2
BhutanLower2
Solomon IslandsLower3.6
MontenegroLower1.8
Cape VerdeLower2.3
VanuatuLower3.8
SamoaLower3.9
KiribatiLower3.6
MicronesiaLower3.1
Marshall IslandsLower
TuvaluLower
showing: 197 rows

How many countries have pro-natalist policies?

Although the list is constantly changing, there are currently 32 countries that have pro-natalist policies in place and that are attempting to increase their fertility rates. China, Russia, Japan, Iran, and Turkey are all examples of these countries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources