Total fertility rate of Indonesia 1895-2020
In 1895, the average woman born in Indonesia could expect to have just over six children over the course of her reproductive years. Despite some fluctuation around the 1910s, fertility would remain largely stagnant at approximately 5.4 children per woman throughout most of the early 20th century. Fertility would begin rising following the country’s independence from the Dutch in 1949, peaking at 5.7 children in 1960, but would begin to fall sharply starting in the 1970s, as significant foreign direct investment in the country and three decades of economic growth would allow the country to modernize and improve access to contraception and family planning services. Fertility would fall sharply for the remainder of the century, falling to just over 2.5 children per woman by 2000. While this decline has slowed considerably in the 21st century, fertility has continued to fall in recent years, and in 2020, it is estimated that the average woman in Indonesia will have approximately 2.3 children over the course of their reproductive years.