Ranked: Countries With the Fewest Children in 2025

Pallavi Rao
2025-06-30 10:39:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Ranked: Countries With the Fewest Children in 2025

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Key Takeaways

South Korea (12.9%) & Japan (14.0%) are the largest countries with the fewest children as a share of the population in 2025.
No African, South Asian, or Latin American mainland countries appear on the list — a sign of younger populations.

Children are becoming rarer in many high-income economies. Fertility rates have fallen, life expectancy has risen, and migration patterns are shifting age structures.

The infographic linked above ranks 36 countries where fewer than one-fifth of residents are under 18 years old.

Data for the above visualization comes from the UN World Population Prospects, using projections for 2025.

Understanding where the fewest children live matters because it foreshadows shrinking workforces, changing consumer demand, and mounting pressures on pension systems.

Ranked: Countries With the Fewest Children by Population Share

Hong Kong (12.6%), South Korea (12.9%), and Japan (14.0%) have the fewest children as a share of the population in 2025.

Relatedly, they also have some of the highest shares of seniors.

Rank	Country	% of Population Below 18	<18 Population in 2025	Total Population in 2025
1	Hong Kong	12.6%	932.0K	7.4M
2	South Korea	12.9%	6.7M	51.7M
3	Japan	14.0%	17.2M	123.1M
4	Taiwan	14.0%	3.2M	23.1M
5	Singapore	14.4%	844.0K	5.9M
6	Andorra	14.5%	12.0K	83K
7	Puerto Rico	14.5%	469.0K	3.2M
8	Italy	14.6%	8.6M	59.1M
9	San Marino	14.7%	5.0K	34K
10	Malta	15.6%	85.0K	545K
11	Portugal	15.6%	1.6M	10.4M
12	Monaco	15.8%	6.0K	38K
13	Spain	15.8%	7.6M	47.9M
14	Bosnia & Herzegovina	15.9%	500.0K	3.1M
15	Greece	16.1%	1.6M	9.9M
16	Macao	16.2%	117.0K	722K
17	Germany	16.6%	14.0M	84.1M
18	Saint Pierre & Miquelon	16.7%	1.0K	6K
19	Bermuda	16.9%	11.0K	65K
20	Croatia	17.0%	653.0K	3.8M
21	Austria	17.0%	1.5M	9.1M
22	Ukraine	17.2%	6.7M	39.0M
23	Guernsey	17.2%	11.0K	64K
24	Serbia	17.2%	1.2M	6.7M
25	Jersey	17.3%	18.0K	104K
26	Qatar	17.3%	540.0K	3.1M
27	Hungary	17.4%	1.7M	9.6M
28	Liechtenstein	17.5%	7.0K	40K
29	British Virgin Islands	17.5%	7.0K	40K
30	Bulgaria	17.6%	1.2M	6.7M
31	Lithuania	17.6%	497.0K	2.8M
32	Slovenia	17.7%	375.0K	2.1M
33	Finland	17.8%	1.0M	5.6M
34	Poland	17.8%	6.8M	38.1M
35	Curaçao	17.8%	33.0K	185K
36	Isle of Man	17.9%	15.0K	84K

Note: The source lists figures for overseas territories and special administrative regions like Puerto Rico and Hong Kong separately. They have been included as-is for full transparency.

In fact, all the top five are East Asian economies: Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore.

All share below-replacement fertility rates, high urban density, late marriage trends, and expensive housing.

South Korea stands out; its fertility rate fell to a world-low 0.72 in 2023. As a result, policymakers ramped up cash incentives and childcare subsidies to help adults bear associated costs.

As it happens, South Korea’s birth rate has rebounded to a generational high, signaling that demographics can turn on a dime.

Europe’s Demographic Squeeze

Europe dominates the remainder of the ranking, with Italy (14.6%), Portugal (15.6%), and Germany (16.6%) leading the way.

Low birth rates have persisted since the 1990s, and net migration has only partially offset population aging.

In fact, Italy’s median age is projected to hit 50 in 2030, complicating the funding of its already-strained pension system.

Meanwhile, smaller micro-states such as Andorra, San Marino, and Monaco mirror their neighbors’ demographic challenges but lack the labor market scale to import workers easily.

Missing From the List: The Global South

Noticeably, no mainland countries from Africa, South Asia, or Latin America appear in the ranking.

Nigeria, India, and Brazil all have far younger populations. More than half of Nigerians are under 18.

That youth bulge can be a demographic dividend if education and jobs keep pace.

Conversely, aging economies may lean on immigration from these regions to sustain growth.

The stark contrast underscores how development paths today are producing two distinct worlds: one scrambling to support grandparents, the other striving to educate grandchildren.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out When Every Continent’s Population Will Peak This Century on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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