Nigeria vs Zambia: Birth rate

Nigeria
32.95 births per 1,000 people
in 2023
Zambia
33.08 births per 1,000 people
in 2023
Nigeria rank
21st
Zambia rank
20th

Birth rate over time

  • Nigeria
  • Zambia
0204060195019862023

How they compare

Zambia currently reports 33.08 births per 1,000 people against 32.95 births per 1,000 people in Nigeria, a difference of 0.13 births per 1,000 people.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Zambia ahead.

Nigeria ranks 21st and Zambia ranks 20th of 236 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 1 and Zambia in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria Zambia Difference Ahead
1950s 46.08 births per 1,000 people 49.32 births per 1,000 people 3.24 births per 1,000 people Zambia
1960s 46.88 births per 1,000 people 48.88 births per 1,000 people 2 births per 1,000 people Zambia
1970s 48.51 births per 1,000 people 49.33 births per 1,000 people 0.8138 births per 1,000 people Zambia
1980s 46.33 births per 1,000 people 47.31 births per 1,000 people 0.9805 births per 1,000 people Zambia
1990s 43.92 births per 1,000 people 46.55 births per 1,000 people 2.62 births per 1,000 people Zambia
2000s 43.36 births per 1,000 people 43.78 births per 1,000 people 0.4229 births per 1,000 people Zambia
2010s 38.92 births per 1,000 people 37.94 births per 1,000 people 0.9787 births per 1,000 people Nigeria
2020s 33.36 births per 1,000 people 33.74 births per 1,000 people 0.3843 births per 1,000 people Zambia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher birth rate, Nigeria or Zambia?
Zambia, at 33.08 births per 1,000 people against 32.95 births per 1,000 people in Nigeria as of 2023.
What is the difference in birth rate between Nigeria and Zambia?
0.13 births per 1,000 people, with Zambia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Zambia?
74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do Nigeria and Zambia rank globally for birth rate?
Nigeria ranks 21st and Zambia ranks 20th of 236 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Birth rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Birth rate
Unit
births per 1,000 people
Source
Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 18,723 data points, 1751–2023
Last refreshed

The total number of births per 1,000 people in a given year.