Benin’s fertility rate fell to 4.5 births per woman in 2024.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher rate means a faster growing and younger population, with more pressure on schools and health services but a larger future workforce. A lower rate eases that pressure and slows growth, while an ageing population comes later. Which of these suits Benin depends on its own goals. The latest figure is 4.5 births per woman in 2024, down from 4.6 a year earlier, a fall of 1.7%. That is the lowest level since 2015, when the rate stood at 5.3 births per woman.

Why it matters. At 4.5 births per woman, the average Beninese family is still large, so households spend a big share of their budgets on feeding, schooling and caring for children. The state has to keep adding classrooms, teachers and maternal and child health services for each new cohort. The decline from 5.3 births per woman in 2015 to 4.5 in 2024 suggests this pressure is easing gradually.