Uganda’s fertility rate fell to 4.2 births per woman in 2024.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher rate means faster population growth and a younger population, and a lower rate means slower growth and an older one. Which suits a country depends on its resources and goals, so the measure carries no good or bad direction of its own. In Uganda the rate was 4.2 births per woman in 2024, down from 4.3 a year earlier. That is a fall of 0.12 births per woman, or 2.8%. Since 2015 the rate has ranged from 5.3 births per woman in 2015 to 4.2 in 2024, so the latest figure is the lowest in that span.

Why it matters. At 4.2 births per woman, Ugandan families remain large by global standards, and the population keeps growing quickly with many children and young people. Households carry the cost of feeding and schooling several children. The state must keep expanding classrooms and health services to match each new cohort. The fall since 2015 gradually eases that pressure on both.