The leading causes of death among children aged 5 to 9 years in the United States in 2022 were unintentional injuries, cancer, and congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities. At that time, unintentional injuries accounted for around 28 percent of all deaths among this age group. Child abuse in the U.S. Sadly, assault or homicide, was the fourth leading cause of death among those aged 5 to 9 years in the United States in 2022, accounting for around 9.4 percent of all deaths. That year, there were around 113,259 cases of child abuse in the U.S. among children aged 6 to 9 years and 129,846 cases among children aged 2 to 5 years. In 2022, there were around 5.36 child deaths per day in the United States due to abuse and neglect. Suicide among children Assault or homicide was also among the top five leading causes of death among children aged 10 to 14 years, but perhaps even more troubling is that suicide is the second leading cause of death among this age group. As with younger children, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14 years, however, suicide accounts for around 13 percent of all deaths among this age group. Comparatively, suicide is not among the ten-leading causes of death among children from the age 1 to 9 years.

The child mortality rate in the United States, for children under the age of five, was 462.9 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that for every thousand babies born in 1800, over 46 percent did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 220 years, this number has dropped drastically, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just seven deaths per thousand births. Although the child mortality rate has decreased greatly over this 220 year period, there were two occasions where it increased; in the 1870s, as a result of the fourth cholera pandemic, smallpox outbreaks, and yellow fever, and in the late 1910s, due to the Spanish Flu pandemic.

In 2022, the leading causes of death for children aged one to four years in the United States were unintentional injuries and congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities. At that time, around 31 percent of all deaths among these children were caused by unintentional injuries. Differences in causes of death among children by age Just as unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among children aged one to four, it is also the leading cause of death for the age groups five to nine and 10 to 14. However, congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities account for fewer deaths as children become older, while the share of deaths caused by cancer is higher among those aged five to nine and 10 to 14. In fact, cancer is the second leading cause of death among five to nine-year-olds, accounting for around 15 percent of all deaths. Sadly, the second leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 is intentional self-harm, with 13 percent of all deaths among those in this age group caused by suicide. Leading causes of death in the United States The leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease and malignant neoplasms. Together, these two diseases accounted for around 40 percent of all deaths in the United States in 2022. That year, COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death, with about six percent of all deaths caused by COVID-19. In 2022, the lifetime odds that the average person in the United States would die from heart disease was one in six, while the odds for cancer were one in seven and for COVID-19 one in 23.

This dataset of U.S. mortality trends since 1900 highlights childhood mortality rates by age group for age at death. Age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000) after 1998 are calculated based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates for 2011–2017 are postcensal estimates based on the 2010 census, estimated as of July 1, 2010. Rates for census years are based on populations enumerated in the corresponding censuses. Rates for noncensus years between 2000 and 2010 are revised using updated intercensal population estimates and may differ from rates previously published. Data on age-adjusted death rates prior to 1999 are taken from historical data (see References below). Age groups for childhood death rates are based on age at death. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, historical data, 1900-1998 (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm); CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, mortality data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov). REFERENCES National Center for Health Statistics, Data Warehouse. Comparability of cause-of-death between ICD revisions. 2008. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/comparability_icd.htm. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available. Mortality multiple cause files. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm. Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf. Arias E, Xu JQ. United States life tables, 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_07-508.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Historical Data, 1900-1998. 2009. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm.

In 2021, the region of Africa had the highest child mortality rate worldwide, with some 72 deaths per one thousand live births. This statistic depicts the child mortality worldwide among children under five years of age in 2021, by region and per 1,000 live births.

The USA: Deaths of male children under five years of age per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 7 deaths per 1000 births, unchanged from 7 deaths per 1000 births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 27 deaths per 1000 births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2022 is 15 deaths per 1000 births. The minimum value, 7 deaths per 1000 births, was reached in 2015 while the maximum of 34 deaths per 1000 births was recorded in 1960.

Child mortality rate of United States of America remained stable at 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births over the last 1 years. Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to current age-specific mortality rates.

Japan: Deaths of male children under five years of age per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 2 deaths per 1000 births, a decline from 3 deaths per 1000 births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 27 deaths per 1000 births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for Japan from 1960 to 2022 is 11 deaths per 1000 births. The minimum value, 2 deaths per 1000 births, was reached in 2022 while the maximum of 43 deaths per 1000 births was recorded in 1960.

UNICEF's country profile for China, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

Deaths per 1000 children aged 1 to 4 years old. The data is sorted by both sex and total and includes a range of values from 1950 to 2019. This data is sourced from the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. The UN IGME uses the same estimation method across all countries to arrive at a smooth trend curve of age-specific mortality rates. The estimates are based on high quality nationally representative data including statistics from civil registration systems, results from household surveys, and censuses. The child mortality estimates are produced in conjunction with national level agencies such as a country’s Ministry of Health, National Statistics Office, or other relevant agencies.

UNICEF's country profile for France, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

UNICEF's country profile for Indonesia, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

Vietnam Child Mortality Rate: Infant: Deaths per 1000 Live Births: Female data was reported at 12.300 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12.500 NA for 2016. Vietnam Child Mortality Rate: Infant: Deaths per 1000 Live Births: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 13.600 NA from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2017, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.000 NA in 2001 and a record low of 12.300 NA in 2017. Vietnam Child Mortality Rate: Infant: Deaths per 1000 Live Births: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by General Statistics Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.G058: Vital Statistics.

The Mortality - Infant Deaths (from Linked Birth / Infant Death Records) online databases on CDC WONDER provide counts and rates for deaths of children under 1 year of age, occuring within the United States to U.S. residents. Information from death certificates has been linked to corresponding birth certificates. Data are available by county of mother's residence, child's age, underlying cause of death, gender, birth weight, birth plurality, birth order, gestational age at birth, period of prenatal care, maternal race and ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education and marital status. Data are available since 1995. The data are produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a continuing longitudinal study that seeks to follow the lives of all those living in Great Britain who were born in one particular week in 1958. The aim of the study is to improve understanding of the factors affecting human development over the whole lifespan.

The NCDS has its origins in the Perinatal Mortality Survey (PMS) (the original PMS study is held at the UK Data Archive under SN 2137). This study was sponsored by the National Birthday Trust Fund and designed to examine the social and obstetric factors associated with stillbirth and death in early infancy among the 17,000 children born in England, Scotland and Wales in that one week. Selected data from the PMS form NCDS sweep 0, held alongside NCDS sweeps 1-3, under SN 5565.

Survey and Biomeasures Data (GN 33004):
To date there have been nine attempts to trace all members of the birth cohort in order to monitor their physical, educational and social development. The first three sweeps were carried out by the National Children's Bureau, in 1965, when respondents were aged 7, in 1969, aged 11, and in 1974, aged 16 (these sweeps form NCDS1-3, held together with NCDS0 under SN 5565). The fourth sweep, also carried out by the National Children's Bureau, was conducted in 1981, when respondents were aged 23 (held under SN 5566). In 1985 the NCDS moved to the Social Statistics Research Unit (SSRU) - now known as the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS). The fifth sweep was carried out in 1991, when respondents were aged 33 (held under SN 5567). For the sixth sweep, conducted in 1999-2000, when respondents were aged 42 (NCDS6, held under SN 5578), fieldwork was combined with the 1999-2000 wave of the 1970 Birth Cohort Study (BCS70), which was also conducted by CLS (and held under GN 33229). The seventh sweep was conducted in 2004-2005 when the respondents were aged 46 (held under SN 5579), the eighth sweep was conducted in 2008-2009 when respondents were aged 50 (held under SN 6137) and the ninth sweep was conducted in 2013 when respondents were aged 55 (held under SN 7669).

Four separate datasets covering responses to NCDS over all sweeps are available. National Child Development Deaths Dataset: Special Licence Access (SN 7717) covers deaths; National Child Development Study Response and Outcomes Dataset (SN 5560) covers all other responses and outcomes; National Child Development Study: Partnership Histories (SN 6940) includes data on live-in relationships; and National Child Development Study: Activity Histories (SN 6942) covers work and non-work activities. Users are advised to order these studies alongside the other waves of NCDS.

From 2002-2004, a Biomedical Survey was completed and is available under End User Licence (EUL) (SN 8731) and Special Licence (SL) (SN 5594). Proteomics analyses of blood samples are available under SL SN 9254.

Linked Geographical Data (GN 33497):
A number of geographical variables are available, under more restrictive access conditions, which can be linked to the NCDS EUL and SL access studies.

Linked Administrative Data (GN 33396):
A number of linked administrative datasets are available, under more restrictive access conditions, which can be linked to the NCDS EUL and SL access studies. These include a Deaths dataset (SN 7717) available under SL and the Linked Health Administrative Datasets (SN 8697) available under Secure Access.

Additional Sub-Studies (GN 33562):
In addition to the main NCDS sweeps, further studies have also been conducted on a range of subjects such as parent migration, unemployment, behavioural studies and respondent essays. The full list of NCDS studies available from the UK Data Service can be found on the NCDS series access data webpage.

How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:
For information on how to access biomedical data from NCDS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.

Further information about the full NCDS series can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies website.
The National Child Development Deaths Dataset, 1958-2014: Special Licence Access contains data on known deaths among members of the NCDS birth cohort from 1958 to 2013. Information on deaths has been taken from the records maintained by the organisations responsible for the study over the life time of the study: the National Birthday Trust Fund, the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), the Social Statistics Research Unit (SSRU) and the CLS. The information has been gleaned from a variety of sources, including death certificates and other information from the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR), and from relatives and friends during survey activities and cohort maintenance work by telephone, letter and e-mail. It includes all deaths up to 31st December 2013. In only 6 cases are the date of death unknown. By the end of December 8.7 per cent of the cohort were known to have died.

The National Child Development Study Response and Outcomes Dataset, 1958-2013 (SN 5560) covers other responses and outcomes of the cohort members and should be used alongside this dataset.

For the 3rd edition (July 2018) an updated version of the data was deposited. The new edition includes data on known deaths among members of the National Child Development Study (NCDS) birth cohort up to 2016. The user guide has also been updated.

Vietnam Child Mortality Rate: Under Five: Deaths per 1000 Live Births: Urban data was reported at 12.700 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12.900 NA for 2016. Vietnam Child Mortality Rate: Under Five: Deaths per 1000 Live Births: Urban data is updated yearly, averaging 14.000 NA from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2017, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.900 NA in 2001 and a record low of 12.700 NA in 2017. Vietnam Child Mortality Rate: Under Five: Deaths per 1000 Live Births: Urban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by General Statistics Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.G058: Vital Statistics.

Number of infant deaths and infant mortality rates, by age group (neonatal and post-neonatal), 1991 to most recent year.

Indonesia: Deaths of children under five years of age per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 21 deaths per 1000 births, a decline from 22 deaths per 1000 births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 25 deaths per 1000 births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for Indonesia from 1960 to 2022 is 95 deaths per 1000 births. The minimum value, 21 deaths per 1000 births, was reached in 2022 while the maximum of 229 deaths per 1000 births was recorded in 1965.

Germany DE: Number of Deaths Ages 5-14 Years data was reported at 535.000 Person in 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 577.000 Person for 2015. Germany DE: Number of Deaths Ages 5-14 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 692.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2018, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,597.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 535.000 Person in 2018. Germany DE: Number of Deaths Ages 5-14 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Number of deaths of children ages 5-14 years; ; Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Sum; Aggregate data for LIC, UMC, LMC, HIC are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Approximately 43 children between 0 and 17 years old per 100 thousand people of that age died in Russia in 2022. That marked a decrease following a surge in figures in the previous year, when it stood at 47 mortalities per 100 thousand children.