Society & PopulationCanada edition
Canada's fertility rate fell to 1.25 births per woman in 2024
Canada's total fertility rate was 1.25 births per woman in 2024, the lowest value in the 2015 to 2024 series and below the figures for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- 20151.6
- 20161.59
- 20171.55
- 20181.51
- 20191.47
- 20201.41
- 20211.44
- 20221.34
- 20231.27
- 20241.25
What the 2024 figure shows
Canada recorded a total fertility rate of 1.25 births per woman in 2024. This is an average measured per woman. It is not a count of babies born that year.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
The 2024 value is the lowest in the annual figures available here, which start in 2015. In 2015 the rate was 1.6 births per woman.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- F3 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.6 · 2015 · World Bank
Year by year, 2015 to 2024
The rate fell each year from 2015 to 2020. It went from 1.6 in 2015 to 1.59 in 2016, 1.55 in 2017, 1.51 in 2018, 1.47 in 2019 and 1.41 in 2020.
Sources for this paragraph (6)
- F3 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.6 · 2015 · World Bank
- F4 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.59 · 2016 · World Bank
- F5 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.55 · 2017 · World Bank
- F6 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.51 · 2018 · World Bank
- F7 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.47 · 2019 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.41 · 2020 · World Bank
The rate rose once in this period. It was 1.44 in 2021, up from 1.41 in 2020.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- F8 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.41 · 2020 · World Bank
- F9 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.44 · 2021 · World Bank
The decline then resumed. The rate was 1.34 in 2022, 1.27 in 2023 and 1.25 in 2024. The drop from 2023 to 2024 was smaller than the drop from 2022 to 2023.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- F10 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.34 · 2022 · World Bank
- F2 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.27 · 2023 · World Bank
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
How Canada compares with other countries in 2024
Among the countries listed for 2024, Canada's rate of 1.25 was lower than the United States at 1.63, the United Kingdom at 1.55 and Australia at 1.48.
Sources for this paragraph (4)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- F15 United States Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.63 · 2024 · World Bank
- F12 United Kingdom Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.55 · 2024 · World Bank
- F11 Australia Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.48 · 2024 · World Bank
Two countries had lower rates than Canada in 2024. Japan's rate was 1.15 and South Korea's was 0.75.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- F13 Japan Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.15 · 2024 · World Bank
- F14 South Korea Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 0.75 · 2024 · World Bank
What it means for people in Canada
For people living in Canada, the 2024 figure confirms that the rate has been lower in each of the last three years than at any earlier point since 2015. The rate was 1.34 in 2022, 1.27 in 2023 and 1.25 in 2024.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- F10 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.34 · 2022 · World Bank
- F2 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.27 · 2023 · World Bank
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
A separate statistic shows that people aged 65 and above made up 20.26% of Canada's population in 2025. This is a different measure from the fertility rate, and these figures do not show how one affects the other.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- C21 Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population) · 20.26% · 2025 · World Bank
The data does not show what the lower rate means for any individual household, school, workplace or public service.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
What the data does not tell us
These are national annual figures. They do not break the rate down by province, age group or region.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
The figures do not explain why the rate fell. They also do not include the number of births or any value for 2025.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- F2 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.27 · 2023 · World Bank
The comparison with other countries uses the same measure for the same year, 2024. It still says nothing about the reasons for the differences between countries.
Sources for this paragraph (6)
- F1 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- F11 Australia Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.48 · 2024 · World Bank
- F12 United Kingdom Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.55 · 2024 · World Bank
- F13 Japan Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.15 · 2024 · World Bank
- F14 South Korea Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 0.75 · 2024 · World Bank
- F15 United States Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.63 · 2024 · World Bank
Scenarios to watch
- Scenario, not a forecast If the next annual figure comes in below 1.25, the series would set a new low and extend the decline that resumed after 2021.
- Scenario, not a forecast If the next figure is at or above 1.25, it would be the first time since 2021 that the rate did not fall from one year to the next.
What to check next
- The next annual total fertility rate for Canada, covering 2025
- Whether the gap between Canada and Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States narrows or widens in the next release
- Provincial breakdowns of the fertility rate, if they become available
- Updated figures on the share of Canada's population aged 65 and above
Verified data used in this report
| Indicator | Value | Period | Sources | Accessed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.25 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F10 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.34 | 2022 | World Bank | |
| F11 | Australia Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.48 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F12 | United Kingdom Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.55 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F13 | Japan Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.15 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F14 | South Korea Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 0.75 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F15 | United States Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.63 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F2 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.27 | 2023 | World Bank | |
| F3 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.6 | 2015 | World Bank | |
| F4 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.59 | 2016 | World Bank | |
| F5 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.55 | 2017 | World Bank | |
| F6 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.51 | 2018 | World Bank | |
| F7 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.47 | 2019 | World Bank | |
| F8 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.41 | 2020 | World Bank | |
| F9 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.44 | 2021 | World Bank | |
| C11 | Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change) | 3.09% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C12 | Canada food price inflation (12-month change) | 2.18% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C13 | Canada new housing price index (12-month change) | -2.04% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C14 | Canada central bank policy rate (month-end) | 2.25% | 2026-09 | Bank of Canada | |
| C15 | Canada shelter prices (CPI, 12-month change) | 1.75% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C16 | Canada unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) | 6.5% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C17 | Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change) | 3.68% | 2026-08 | Statistics Canada | |
| C18 | Canada GDP growth (annual %) | 1.74% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C19 | Canada Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate) | 6.91% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C21 | Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population) | 20.26% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C22 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 0.94% | 2025 | World Bank |
Sources
How this report was checked
- Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
- Figures were collected from the source on
- Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
- Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
- A separate quality-check model found no unsupported or speculative sentences.
- No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.
- The report has been regenerated 1 time(s); see the update history.
Update history
- 2026-10-27 07:02 UTC — created
- 2026-10-29 14:30 UTC — regenerated
- 2026-10-29 14:30 UTC — approved+published