| Code | SP.DYN.CBRT.IN |
| Indicator Name | Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people) |
| Long definition | Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration. |
| Source | World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division;
Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National statistical offices;
Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT);
Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistical Division |
| Topic | Population |
| Unit of measure | Per 1000 people |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Aggregation method | Weighted average |
| Statistical concept and methodology | Methodology: The crude birth rate is calculated as the number of births in a given period divided by the average population in that period. For human populations the period is usually one year and, if the population changes in size over the year, the divisor is taken as the population at the mid-year. The rate is usually expressed in terms of 1,000 people: for example, a crude birth rate of 9.5 (per 1000 people) in a population of 1 million would imply 9500 births per year in the entire population.
Statistical concept(s): Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration. Vital rates are based on data from birth and death registration systems, censuses, and sample surveys by national statistical offices and other organizations, or on demographic analysis. Data for the most recent year for some high-income countries are provisional estimates based on vital registers. The estimates for many other countries are from the United Nations Population Division. |
| Development relevance | The crude birth rate is not appropriate for comparison of different populations or areas with large differences in age-distributions. When the crude death rate is subtracted from the crude birth rate, the result is the rate of natural increase, which is the rate of population change in the absence of migration. |
| Limitations and exceptions | Vital registers are the preferred source for these data, but in many developing countries systems for registering births and deaths are absent or incomplete because of deficiencies in the coverage of events or geographic areas. Many developing countries carry out special household surveys that ask respondents about recent births and deaths. Estimates derived in this way are subject to sampling errors and recall errors. |
| License URL | https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by |
| License Type | CC BY-4.0 |
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