Technical Specifications: Births (thousands)

Average number of births in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, generally estimated mid-year.

The number of births allows to quantify the magnitude of births that occur in a specific country or geographic area during a specific period of time. It is used as a denominator to estimate key demographic indicators, such as the birth and fertility rates.

For countries with a population greater than 90 thousand inhabitants, the figures are estimates from the United Nations, based on data that represent values estimated as of July 1st, obtained by linear interpolation of the corresponding five-year population projections of the United Nations, using the medium-variant projections.

For countries with less than 90 thousand inhabitants, the figures are estimates from the US Census Bureau International Database. The US Census Bureau population projections are based on the cohort component method.

In country A there were 2,286,300 births during 2018.

The international comparability of this indicator may be affected by the periodicity for population censuses and demographic surveys. Population censuses are generally carried out every 10 years. Surveys have a frequency that varies between different countries, and the sampling error can also influence comparability. The value of the indicator also depends on whether the coverage of the civil registry system is adequate (greater than 90%), whether births are registered in the system in a timely manner, the integrity of the national registry, and how newborns who die are registered during delivery or within 24 hours after birth.

Estimated figures may differ from the statistics of countries due to factors such as methodological differences, for example, to produce population estimates and projections.

Other factors that may influence are differences in the definitions of vital events, the coverage, and the tabulation procedures applied in each country.

• For countries with a population greater than 90 thousand inhabitants:
  United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects. Available in:United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/
• For countries with a population of less than 90 thousand inhabitants:
  Census Bureau of the United States of America. International database. Available from: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/about/idb.html

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• U.S. Census Bureau. International database, Glossary. Available from: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/about/glossary.html
• United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division. Glossary of Demographic Terms. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/GlossaryOfDemographicTerms/
• United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2019 Demographic Yearbook, 70th Issue. New York, 2020. Available from: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/
• U.S. Census Bureau. Population Division, International Programs. International database: Population Estimates and Projections Methodology. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/technical-documentation/methodology/idb-methodology.pdf