Nigerian states ranked by fertility rate

Name: Total fertility rate (DHS, births per woman) by state, Nigeria
Creator: The DHS Program (ICF), with the National Population Commission

All 36 states and the FCT, 2024. Highest: Yobe at 7.5 births per woman. Lowest: Rivers at 2.9 births per woman. Nigeria overall: 4.8 births per woman, from 5.3 births per woman in 2018.

What this measures: Average number of children a woman would have at current age-specific fertility rates, for the three years before the survey.

Every state, 2024

Darker means higher

Source: The DHS Program (ICF), with the National Population Commission · Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS Program API) · FE_FRTR_W_TFR · version 3, published 2 Nov 2026 · DHS-TERMS, no commercial reuse without permission

Change since 2018

Largest rises

Yobe5.9 births per woman → 7.5 births per woman+1.6
Borno5.2 births per woman → 6.5 births per woman+1.3
Ogun3.8 births per woman → 4.1 births per woman+0.3
Kogi4.8 births per woman → 4.9 births per woman+0.1
Kebbi6.5 births per woman → 6.6 births per woman+0.1

Every state: 2024 value and rank, 2018 value and rank, and the change
Rank	State	2024	2018	Change	Rank change
1	Yobe	7.5 births per woman	5.9 births per woman	+1.6	▲ 10
2	Jigawa	6.9 births per woman	7.1 births per woman	−0.2	▲ 1
3	Kebbi	6.6 births per woman	6.5 births per woman	+0.1	▲ 3
4	Borno	6.5 births per woman	5.2 births per woman	+1.3	▲ 12
5	Zamfara	6.3 births per woman	6.4 births per woman	−0.1	▲ 3
6	Bauchi	6.2 births per woman	7.2 births per woman	−1.0	▼ 4
7	Kano	5.8 births per woman	6.5 births per woman	−0.7	same
8	Katsina	5.7 births per woman	7.3 births per woman	−1.6	▼ 7
9	Kaduna	5.6 births per woman	5.9 births per woman	−0.3	▲ 1
10	Gombe	5.5 births per woman	6.6 births per woman	−1.1	▼ 5
11	Sokoto	5.4 births per woman	7.0 births per woman	−1.6	▼ 7
12	Adamawa	5.3 births per woman	6.1 births per woman	−0.8	▼ 3
13	Taraba	5.2 births per woman	5.4 births per woman	−0.2	▲ 1
14	Kogi	4.9 births per woman	4.8 births per woman	+0.1	▲ 5
15	Ebonyi	4.7 births per woman	5.4 births per woman	−0.7	▼ 2
16	Niger	4.4 births per woman	5.8 births per woman	−1.4	▼ 4
17	Imo	4.4 births per woman	4.5 births per woman	−0.1	▲ 9
18	Plateau	4.4 births per woman	4.7 births per woman	−0.3	▲ 4
19	Nasarawa	4.3 births per woman	5.3 births per woman	−1.0	▼ 4
20	Ogun	4.1 births per woman	3.8 births per woman	+0.3	▲ 14
21	Kwara	4.0 births per woman	5.2 births per woman	−1.2	▼ 4
22	Bayelsa	3.8 births per woman	4.4 births per woman	−0.6	▲ 5
23	Ekiti	3.8 births per woman	4.6 births per woman	−0.8	same
24	Abia	3.7 births per woman	4.9 births per woman	−1.2	▼ 6
25	Delta	3.7 births per woman	4.4 births per woman	−0.7	▲ 3
26	Anambra	3.7 births per woman	4.7 births per woman	−1.0	▼ 5
27	Enugu	3.5 births per woman	4.1 births per woman	−0.6	▲ 4
28	Benue	3.5 births per woman	4.5 births per woman	−1.0	▼ 3
29	Osun	3.3 births per woman	3.8 births per woman	−0.5	▲ 4
30	Oyo	3.3 births per woman	4.5 births per woman	−1.2	▼ 6
31	Edo	3.3 births per woman	4.8 births per woman	−1.5	▼ 11
32	Akwa Ibom	3.3 births per woman	3.6 births per woman	−0.3	▲ 4
33	Lagos	3.2 births per woman	3.4 births per woman	−0.2	▲ 4
34	FCT, Abuja	3.2 births per woman	4.3 births per woman	−1.1	▼ 5
35	Ondo	3.1 births per woman	4.1 births per woman	−1.0	▼ 5
36	Cross River	3.0 births per woman	3.7 births per woman	−0.7	▼ 1
37	Rivers	2.9 births per woman	3.8 births per woman	−0.9	▼ 5

Rank 1 is the highest value. Survey figures are estimates from a sample of households, so small differences between states may not be meaningful.

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Full history and definition: Total fertility rate (DHS, births per woman).