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.

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

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.

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

Infant mortality rate of China dropped by 6.25% from 4.8 deaths per thousand live births in 2022 to 4.5 deaths per thousand 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.

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

Forecast: Infant Mortality Rate in Urban Areas 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 September of 2025.

4.5 (deaths per 1,000 live births) 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.

Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) in China was reported at 4.7 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

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

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

Forecast: Infant Mortality in China 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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.

In 2021, the mortality rate of congenital heart disease among infants in China dropped to **** per 100,000 in urban areas and ** per 100,000 in rural regions. Although the rate dropped substantially in the past decade, the disease, together with other types of congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities remained a major killer of children in China.

Infant mortality rate estimates (Nonlinear QARDL).

UNICEF's country profile for China, Macao 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.