In 2023, the infant mortality rate in deaths per 1,000 live births in China stood at 4.5. Between 1969 and 2023, the figure dropped by 84, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

The infant mortality rate in China, for children under the age of one year old, was approximately 195 deaths per thousand births in 1950. This means that for all babies born in 1950, almost one in five did not survive past their first birthday. This rate fell to just under 130 deaths in 1955, before increasing slightly in the next decade, as Chairman Mao Zedong's 'Great Leap Forward' failed to industrialize the country and created a famine that killed millions of people. Over the past half century, China's infant mortality rate has decreased gradually to just ten deaths per thousand births today.

Historical dataset showing China infant mortality rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

The infant mortality rate in China decreased by 0.4 deaths per 1,000 live births (-6.78 percent) since the previous year. As a result, the infant mortality rate in China saw its lowest number in 2020 with 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.The infant mortality rate refers to the number of newborns not expected to survive past the first year of life. This is generally expressed as a value per 1,000 live births, and infant mortality also includes neonatal mortality (deaths within the first 28 days of life).Find more statistics on other topics about China with key insights such as death rate, crude birth rate, and total fertility rate.

Infant mortality rate of China dropped by 6.25% from 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 to 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. Since the 7.62% slump in 2013, infant mortality rate plummeted by 53.61% in 2023. Infant mortality rate is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

Forecast: Infant Mortality Rate in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

China: Infant deaths per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 5 deaths per 1000 live births, unchanged from 5 deaths per 1000 live births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 19 deaths per 1000 live births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for China from 1969 to 2022 is 34 deaths per 1000 live births. The minimum value, 5 deaths per 1000 live births, was reached in 2021 while the maximum of 83 deaths per 1000 live births was recorded in 1969.

The child mortality rate in China, for children under the age of five, was 417 deaths per thousand births in 1850. This means that for all children born in 1850, almost 42 percent did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 170 years, this number has dropped drastically, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just twelve deaths per thousand births. The sharpest decrease came between 1950 and 1955, as the Chinese Civil War ended, and the country began to recover from the Second World War. The decline then stopped between 1955 and 1965, due to famines caused by Chairman Mao Zedong's attempted Great Leap Forward, which was a failed attempt to industrialize China in the late twentieth century.

Forecast: Male Infant Mortality Rate in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Actual value and historical data chart for China Mortality Rate Infant Male Per 1000 Live Births

Forecast: Female Infant Mortality Rate in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Number of infant deaths in China was reported at 40795 deaths in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Number of infant deaths - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

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

The health costs of economic uncertainty always remain a major concern among policymakers of China. The theoretical and empirical literature on the economic uncertainty-human health nexus is still in its infancy stage. This study is firmly rooted in the economic uncertainty theory advanced by Baker, Bloom, & Davis. In this study, the primary objective of the analysis is to estimate the asymmetric impact of economic uncertainty on human health in China’s economy. In order to evaluate the short and long-run estimates of economic uncertainty on human health across various quantiles, we have employed the linear and nonlinear QARDL models. The linear QARDL model shows that the long-run relationship between economic uncertainty and the infant mortality rate is positive and significant at all quantiles, while the long-run relationship between economic uncertainty and the death rate is positive and significant at higher quantiles. The nonlinear QARDL model reveals that, in the long run, the relationship between the positive shock of economic uncertainty and the infant mortality rate is positive and significant at quantiles 0.30 to 0.95, while the long-run relationship between the positive shock of economic uncertainty and the death rate is positive and significant at higher quantiles. The relationship between the negative shock of economic uncertainty and the infant mortality rate is negative and significant at the highest quantiles, while the relationship between the negative shock of economic uncertainty and death rate is negative and significant at higher quantiles in the long run. The findings indicate a positive relationship between economic uncertainty in China and higher rates of infant mortality and death. Thus, adopting suitable policies for controlling economic uncertainty can help in improving human health in China.

Child mortality rate of China slumped by 6.06% from 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 to 6.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. Since the 7.41% drop in 2013, child mortality rate sank by 50.40% in 2023. 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.

China Fertility Rate of Childbearing Women: 1st Birth data was reported at 1.417 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.705 % for 2020. China Fertility Rate of Childbearing Women: 1st Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 2.232 % from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2021, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.170 % in 1999 and a record low of 1.417 % in 2021. China Fertility Rate of Childbearing Women: 1st Birth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Birth, Death, Natural Growth, Birth Rate, Death Rate and Natural Growth Rate, Life Expectancy, Dependency Ratio.

In 2024, the mortality rate in China ranged at approximately 7.76 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The mortality rate in China displayed an uneven development over the last two decades. This is mainly related to the very uneven sizes of Chinese age groups, improvements in health care, and the occurrence of epidemics. However, an overall growing trend is undisputable and related to China's aging population. As the share of the population aged 60 and above will be growing significantly over the upcoming two decades, the mortality rate will further increase in the years ahead. Population in China China was the second most populous country in the world in 2024. However, due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades and finally turned negative in 2022. The major factor for this development was a set of policies introduced by the Chinese government in 1979, including the so-called one-child policy, which was intended to improve people’s living standards by limiting the population growth. However, with the decreasing birth rate and slower population growth, China nowadays is facing the problems of a rapidly aging population. Birth control in China According to the one-child policy, a married couple was only allowed to have one child. Only under certain circumstances were parents allowed to have a second child. As the performance of family control had long been related to the assessment of local government’s achievements, violations of the rule were severely punished. The birth control in China led to a decreasing birth rate and a more skewed gender ratio of new births due to a widely preference for male children in the Chinese society. Nowadays, since China’s population is aging rapidly, the one-child policy has been re-considered as an obstacle for the country’s further economic development. Since 2014, the one-child policy has been gradually relaxed and fully eliminated at the end of 2015. In May 2021, a new three-child policy has been introduced. However, many young Chinese people today are not willing to have more children due to high costs of raising a child, especially in urban areas.

China Number of Births data was reported at 10.588 Person th in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,213.144 Person th for 2020. China Number of Births data is updated yearly, averaging 12.486 Person th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2021, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,213.144 Person th in 2020 and a record low of 9.684 Person th in 2011. China Number of Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Birth, Death, Natural Growth, Birth Rate, Death Rate and Natural Growth Rate, Life Expectancy, Dependency Ratio.

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

Malaysia Infant Mortality Rate: per 1000 Persons: Citizens: Chinese data was reported at 4.000 NA in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.300 NA for 2013. Malaysia Infant Mortality Rate: per 1000 Persons: Citizens: Chinese data is updated yearly, averaging 4.100 NA from Dec 1993 (Median) to 2014, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.300 NA in 1993 and a record low of 3.600 NA in 2007. Malaysia Infant Mortality Rate: per 1000 Persons: Citizens: Chinese data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Malaysia – Table MY.G007: Vital Statistics: Infant Mortality & Mortality Rate.