In 2019, the main cause of death among the female population in Nigeria was malaria. More specifically, the infectious disease led to the casualty of 12.5 percent of females deceased that year. Other common causes of death included diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections, and neonatal disorders.

The main causes of death in Nigeria in 2021 were neonatal disorders and malaria. More specifically, nearly 14 percent and 13 percent of all deaths in the country were caused by neonatal disorders and malaria, respectively. Other common causes included lower respiratory infects and COVID-19.

Nigeria NG: Cause of Death: by Injury: % of Total data was reported at 8.300 % in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 8.300 % for 2015. Nigeria NG: Cause of Death: by Injury: % of Total data is updated yearly, averaging 7.850 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.300 % in 2016 and a record low of 6.000 % in 2000. Nigeria NG: Cause of Death: by Injury: % of Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Nigeria – Table NG.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Cause of death refers to the share of all deaths for all ages by underlying causes. Injuries include unintentional and intentional injuries.; ; Derived based on the data from WHO's Global Health Estimates.; Weighted average;

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

Nigeria’s under-five mortality rate is the eighth highest in the world. Identifying the causes of under-five deaths is crucial to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 by 2030 and improving child survival. National and international bodies collaborated in this study to provide the first ever direct estimates of the causes of under-five mortality in Nigeria. Verbal autopsy interviews were conducted of a representative sample of 986 neonatal and 2,268 1–59 month old deaths from 2008 to 2013 identified by the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Cause of death was assigned by physician coding and computerized expert algorithms arranged in a hierarchy. National and regional estimates of age distributions, mortality rates and cause proportions, and zonal- and age-specific mortality fractions and rates for leading causes of death were evaluated. More under-fives and 1–59 month olds in the South, respectively, died as neonates (N = 24.1%, S = 32.5%, p

Between 2011 and 2023, Boko Haram was responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Nigeria is the country most affected by the terrorist group's attacks. States in the North-East register the highest number of deaths. Borno is by far the most threatened state, in that, Boko Haram has caused over 38,000 deaths in this area. Among the news on attacks mostly present in the media, the kidnapping of 276 female students from a secondary school in Borno in 2014 received a global response. As of April 2021, over 100 girls were still missing, while six students were believed to have died.

Abstract

The 1999 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 8,199 women age 15-49 and 3,082 men age 15-64, designed to provide information on levels and trends of fetility, family planning practice, maternal and child health, infant and child mortality, and maternal mortality, as well as awareness of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and female circumcision. Fieldwork for the survey took place between March and May 1999.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the 1999 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is to provide up-to-date information on reality and childhood mortality levels; nuptiality; fertility preferences; awareness, approval, and use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; nutrition levels; and maternal and child health. This information is intended to assist policymakers and administrators in evaluating and designing programmes and strategies for improving health and family planning services in Nigeria.

MAIN RESULTS

Fertility

The total fertility rate during the five years before the survey is 5.2 births per woman. This shows a drop from the level of 6.0 births per woman as reported in the 1990 NDHS and 5.4 from the 1994 Sentinel Survey. The total fertility rate may, however be higher due to evidence that some births were probably omitted in the data. Fertility is substantially higher in the Northeast and Northwest regions and lower in the Southeast, Southwest, and Central regions. Fertility rates are also lower for more educated women.

Childbearing begins early in Nigeria, with about half of women 25 years and above becoming mothers before reaching the age of 20. The median age at first birth is 20.

The level of teenage childbearing has declined somewhat, with the proportion of girls age 15-19 who have either given birth or are pregnant with their first child declining from 28 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 1999.

Teenage childbearing is higher in rural than urban areas and for those with no education than those with education.

The data from the survey indicate that there is a strong desire for children and a preference for large families with 66 percent of married women and 71 percent of married men indicating a desire to have more children. Even among those with six or more children, 30 percent of married women and 55 percent of married men want to have more children. This indicates a decline for women from the 35 percent reported in the 1990 NDHS. Overall, women report a mean ideal number of children of 6.2, compared with 7.8 children for men.

Despite the increasing level of contraceptive use, the 1999 NDHS data show that unplanned pregnancies are common, with almost one in five births reported to be unplanned. Most of these (16 percent of births) are mistimed (wanted later), while 3 percent were unwanted at all.

Family Planning

Knowledge about family planning methods is increasing in Nigeria, with about 65 percent of all women and 82 percent of all men having heard of at least one method of contraception.

Among women, the pill is the best known method (53 percent) while among men, the condom is the best known method (70 percent). Radio is a main source of information about family planning, with 35 percent of women and 61 percent of men reporting that they heard a family planning message on the radio in the few months before interview. The proportions of women and men who have seen a television message are 23 and 40 percent, respectively. Only 17 percent of women had seen a family planning message in the print media.

The contraceptive prevalence rate in Nigeria has also increased, with 15 percent of married women and 32 percent of married men now using some method of family planning. The use of modem methods is lower at 9 percent for married women and 14 percent for men. Although traditional contraceptive methods are not actively promoted, their use is relatively high with about 6 percent of married women and 17 percent of married men reporting that they are using periodic abstinence or withdrawal. In 1990, only 6 percent of married women were using any method, with only 4 percent using a modern method.

There are significant differentials in levels of family planning use. Urban women and men are much more likely to be using a method than rural respondents. Current use among married women is higher in the Southwest regions (26 percent), Southeast (24 percent), and Central (18 percent) regions than in the Northwest and Northeast (3 percent each). The largest differences occur by educational attainment. Only 6 percent of married women with no education are using a method of contraception, compared with 45 percent of those with more than secondary school.

Users of modern contraception are almost as likely to obtain their methods from government as private sources. Forty-three percent of users obtain their methods from the public sector--mostly government hospitals and health centres--while 43 percent use private medical sources such as pharmacies and private hospitals and clinics; 8 percent get their methods from other private sources like friends, relatives, shops and non-governmental organisations.

Maternal Health

The results of the survey show that antenatal care is not uncommon in Nigeria, with mothers receiving antenatal check-ups from either a doctor, nurse or midwife for two out of three births in the three years preceding the survey. However, the content of antenatal care visits appears to be lacking in at least one respect: survey data indicate deficiencies in tetanus toxoid coverage during pregnancy. Mothers reported receiving the recommended two doses of tetanus toxoid for only 44 percent of births and one dose for I 1 percent of births. Almost 40 percent of births occurred without the benefit of a tetanus vaccination.

In Nigeria, home deliveries are still very common, with almost three in five births delivered at home. Compared with 1990, the proportion of home deliveries has declined, with more births now taking place in health facilities. Increasing the proportion of births occurring in facilities is important since they can be attended by medically trained personnel which can result in fewer maternal deaths and delivery complications. Currently, 42 percent of births are attended by doctors, nurses or midwives.

The 1999 NDHS data show that about one in four Nigerian women age 15-49 reported being circumcised. The practice of female genital cutting is more prevalent in the south and central parts of the country and is almost non-existent in the north.

Child Health

The 1999 NDHS data indicate a decline in childhood vaccination coverage, with the proportion of children fully immunised dropping from 30 percent of children age 12-23 months in 1990 to only 17 percent in 1999. Only a little over half of young children receive the BCG vaccine and the first doses of DPT and polio vaccines. Almost 40 percent of children have not received any vaccination.

Diarrhoea and respiratory illness are common causes of childhood death. In the two weeks before the survey, 11 percent of children under three years of age were ill with acute respiratory infections (ARI) and 15 percent had diarrhoea. Half of children with ARI and 37,percent of those with diarrhoea were taken to a health facility for treatment. Of all the children with diarrhoea, 34 percent were given fluid prepared from packets of oral rehydralion salts (ORS) and 38 percent received a home-made sugar-salt solution.

The infant mortality rate for the five-year period before the survey (early 1994 to early 1999) is 75 per thousand live births. The under-five mortality is 140 deaths per 1,000 births, which means that one in seven children born in Nigeria dies before reaching his/her fifth birthday. However, both these figures are probably considerably higher in reality since an in-depth examination of the data from the birth histories reported by women in the NDHS shows evidence of omission of births and deaths. For this reason, the dramatic decline observed in childhood mortality between the 1990 and 1999 NDHS surveys needs to be viewed with considerably skepticism. Based on the reported birth history information, the infant mortality rate fell from 87 to 75 deaths per 1,000 births, while the under-five mortality rate dropped from 192 to 140.

Problems with the overall levels of reported mortality are unlikely to severely affect differentials in childhood mortality. As expected, mother's level of education has a major effect on infant and child mortality. Whereas the lowest infant mortality rate was reported among children of mothers with post- secondary education (41 per thousand live births), the corresponding figure among infants of mothers with no schooling is 77 per thousand live births.

Data were also collected in the NDHS on the availability of various health services. The data indicate that the vast majority of Nigerian households live within five kilometres of a health facility, with health centres being the closest, followed by clinics and hospitals.

Breasffeeding and Nutrition

Breastfeeding is widely practiced in Nigeria, with 96 percent of children being breastfed. The median duration of breastfeeding is 19 months. Although it is recommended that children be exclusively breastfed with no supplements for the first 4 to 6 months, only 20 percent of children 0-3 months are exclusively breasffed, as are 8 percent of children 4-6 months. Two-thirds of children 4-6 months are being given supplements in addition to breast milk.

In the NDHS, interviewers weighed and measured children under three born to women who were interviewed. Unfortunately, data were either missing or implausible for more than half of these children. Of the half with plausible data, 46 percent of children under 3 are classified as stunted (low height-for-age), 12 percent are wasted (low

As of 2021, 1.9 million people in Nigeria were living with HIV. That year, the number of deaths due to AIDS amounted to 51 thousand, including both adults and children. The highest number of deaths was recorded among female adults, with 17 thousand deaths.

BackgroundPostpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal death in Sokoto State, Nigeria, where 95% of women give birth outside of a health facility. Although pilot schemes have demonstrated the value of community-based distribution of misoprostol for the prevention of PPH, none have provided practical insight on taking such programs to scale.MethodsA community-based system for the distribution of misoprostol tablets (in 600ug) and chlorhexidine digluconate gel 7.1% to mother-newborn dyads was introduced by state government officials and community leaders throughout Sokoto State in April 2013, with the potential to reach an estimated 190,467 annual births. A simple outcome form that collected distribution and consumption data was used to assess the percentage of mothers that received misoprostol at labor through December 2014. Mothers’ conditions were tracked through 6 weeks postpartum. Verbal autopsies were conducted on associated maternal deaths.ResultsMisoprostol distribution was successfully introduced and reached mothers in labor in all 244 wards in Sokoto State. Community data collection systems were successfully operational in all 244 wards with reliable capacity to record maternal deaths. 70,982 women or 22% of expected births received misoprostol from April 2013 to December 2014. Between April and December 2013, 33 women (< 1%) reported that heavy bleeding persisted after misoprostol use and were promptly referred. There were a total of 11 deaths in the 2013 cohort which were confirmed as maternal deaths by verbal autopsies. Between January and December of 2014, a total 434 women (1.25%) that ingested misoprostol reported associated side effects.ConclusionIt is feasible and safe to utilize government guidelines on results-based primary health care to successfully introduce community distribution of life saving misoprostol at scale to reduce PPH and improve maternal outcomes. Lessons from Sokoto State’s at-scale program implementation, to assure every mother’s right to uterotonics, can inform scale-up elsewhere in Nigeria.

In 2023, the death rate in deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in Nigeria amounted to *****. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by *****, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Nigeria suffers some of the highest rates of maternal and perinatal mortality in the world. Poor quality of obstetric care is a key factor, and although not quantified at a national level, local studies suggest that high rates of maternal and perinatal deaths are due to clinical management errors in hospitals. This project therefore explored the nature of existing practices and quality of clinical management of three leading causes of maternal and perinatal deaths (primary postpartum haemorrhage, eclampsia, and obstructed labour); implement an intervention package aimed at improving the quality of clinical management of these causes of deaths; and test the effectiveness of this package on quality of care indicators and maternal and perinatal outcomes.

The study follows a quasi-experimental research design, using interrupted time series analysis for assessment over a three year period. Six public secondary care hospitals and two public tertiary care hospitals in both north and south of Nigeria were selected randomly. Formative research was conducted in all eight hospitals, and thereafter the intervention will be carried out in four hospitals, with the remaining four hospitals functioning as control sites.

Clinical outcomes will be compared between intervention and control sites in a total of 2334 cases of PPH, preeclampsia/eclampsia and obstructed labour (based on an anticipated 50% reduction in case fatality rates, significance level of 0.05 and 80% power). This will consist of 1167 cases in the intervention sites and 1167 in the control sites. Maternal and perinatal mortality rates will serve as primary outcome measures. Secondary outcomes involve quality of care drawn from United Nations process indicators, skilled attendance index and data derived from this formative audit phase of the project.

The results will enable the identification of a system-wide quality of care framework for improving the delivery of emergency obstetric care for the prevention of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.

The leading cause of death in low-income countries worldwide in 2021 was lower respiratory infections, followed by stroke and ischemic heart disease. The death rate from lower respiratory infections that year was 59.4 deaths per 100,000 people. While the death rate from stroke was around 51.6 per 100,000 people. Many low-income countries suffer from health issues not seen in high-income countries, including infectious diseases, malnutrition and neonatal deaths, to name a few. Low-income countries worldwide Low-income countries are defined as those with per gross national incomes (GNI) per capita of 1,045 U.S. dollars or less. A majority of the world’s low-income countries are located in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Some of the lowest-income countries as of 2023 include Burundi, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. Low-income countries have different health problems that lead to worse health outcomes. For example, Chad, Lesotho, and Nigeria have some of the lowest life expectancies on the planet. Health issues in low-income countries Low-income countries also tend to have higher rates of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases as a consequence of poor health infrastructure and a lack of qualified health workers. Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa have some of the highest rates of new HIV infections worldwide. Likewise, tuberculosis, a treatable condition that affects the respiratory system, has high incident rates in lower income countries. Other health issues can be affected by the income of a country as well, including maternal and infant mortality. In 2023, Afghanistan had one of the highest rates of infant mortality rates in the world.

Abstract

The 1990 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics with the aim of gathering reliable information on fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, maternal care, vaccination status, breastfeeding, and nutrition. Data collection took place two years after implementation of the National Policy on Population and addresses issues raised by that policy.

Fieldwork for the NDHS was conducted in two phases: from April to July 1990 in the southern states and from July to October 1990 in the northern states. Interviewers collected information on the reproductive histories of 8,781 women age 15-49 years and on the health of their 8,113 children under the age of five years.

OBJECTIVES

The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a national sample survey of women of reproductive age designed to collect data on socioeconomic characteristics, marriage patterns, history of child bearing, breastfeeding, use of contraception, immunisation of children, accessibility to health and family planning services, treatment of children during episodes of illness, and the nutritional status of children.

The primary objectives of the NDHS are:

(i) To collect data for the evaluation of family planning and health programmes; (ii) To assess the demographic situation in Nigeria; and (iii) To support dissemination and utilisation of the results in planning and managing family planning and health programmes.

MAIN RESULTS

According to the NDHS, fertility remains high in Nigeria; at current fertility levels, Nigerian women will have an average of 6 children by the end of their reproductive years. The total fertility rate may actually be higher than 6.0, due to underestimation of births. In a 1981/82 survey, the total fertility rate was estimated to be 5.9 children per woman.

One reason for the high level of fertility is that use of contraception is limited. Only 6 percent of married women currently use a contraceptive method (3.5 percent use a modem method, and 2.5 percent use a traditional method). These levels, while low, reflect an increase over the past decade: ten years ago just 1 percent of Nigerian women were using a modem family planning method. Periodic abstinence (rhythm method), the pill, IUD, and injection are the most popular methods among married couples: each is used by about 1 percent of currently married women. Knowledge of contraception remains low, with less than half of all women age 15-49 knowing of any method.

Certain groups of women are far more likely to use contraception than others. For example, urban women are four times more likely to be using a contraceptive method (15 percent) than rural women (4 percent). Women in the Southwest, those with more education, and those with five or more children are also more likely to be using contraception.

Levels of fertility and contraceptive use are not likely to change until there is a drop in desired family size and until the idea of reproductive choice is more widely accepted. At present, the average ideal family size is essentially the same as the total fertility rate: six children per woman. Thus, the vast majority of births are wanted. The desire for childbearing is strong: half of women with five children say that they want to have another child.

Another factor leading to high fertility is the early age at marriage and childbearing in Nigeria. Half of all women are married by age 17 and half have become mothers by age 20. More than a quarter of teenagers (women age 15-19 years) either are pregnant or already have children.

National statistics mask dramatic variations in fertility and family planning between urban and rural areas, among different regions of the country, and by women's educational attainment. Women who are from urban areas or live in the South and those who are better educated want and have fewer children than other women and are more likely to know of and use modem contraception. For example, women in the South are likely to marry and begin childbearing several years later than women in the North. In the North, women continue to follow the traditional pattern and marry early, at a median age of 15, while in the South, women are marrying at a median age of 19 or 20. Teenagers in the North have births at twice the rate of those in the South: 20 births per 1130 women age 15-19 in the North compared to 10 birdas per 100 women in the South. Nearly half of teens in the North have already begun childbearing, versus 14 percent in South. This results in substantially lower total fertility rates in the South: women in the South have, on average, one child less than women in the North (5.5 versus 6.6).

The survey also provides information related to maternal and child health. The data indicate that nearly 1 in 5 children dies before their fifth birthday. Of every 1,000 babies born, 87 die during their first year of life (infant mortality rate). There has been little improvement in infant and child mortality during the past 15 years. Mortality is higher in rural than urban areas and higher in the North than in the South. Undemutrition may be a factor contributing to childhood mortality levels: NDHS data show that 43 percent of the children under five are chronically undemourished. These problems are more severe in rural areas and in the North.

Preventive and curative health services have yet to reach many women and children. Mothers receive no antenatal care for one-third of births and over 60 percent of all babies arc born at home. Only one-third of births are assisted by doctors, trained nurses or midwives. A third of the infants are never vaccinated, and only 30 percent are fully immunised against childhood diseases. When they are ill, most young children go untreated. For example, only about one-third of children with diarrhoea were given oral rehydration therapy.

Women and children living in rural areas and in the North are much less likely than others to benefit from health services. Almost four times as many births in the North are unassisted as in the South, and only one-third as many children complete their polio and DPT vaccinations. Programmes to educate women about the need for antenatal care, immunisation, and proper treatment for sick children should perhaps be aimed at mothers in these areas,

Mothers everywhere need to learn about the proper time to introduce various supplementary foods to breastfeeding babies. Nearly all babies are breastfed, however, almost all breastfeeding infants are given water, formula, or other supplements within the first two months of life, which both jeopardises their nutritional status and increases the risk of infection.

Geographic coverage

The 1990 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey. The sample was constructed so as to provide national estimates as well as estimates for the four Ministry of Health regions.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Women age 15-49
• Children under five years

Universe

The population covered by the 1990 DHS is defined as the universe of all women age 15-49 in Nigeria.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

The NDHS Sample was drawn from the National Master Sample for the 1987/1992 National Integrated Survey of Households (NISH) programme being implemented by the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS). NISH, as part of the United Nations National Household Survey Capability Programme, is a multi- subject household-based survey system.

The NISH master sample was created in 1986 on the basis of the 1973 census enumeration areas (EA). Within each state, EAs were stratified into three sectors (urban, semiurban, and rural), from which an initial selection of approximately 8C0 EAs was made from each state. EAs were selected at this stage with equal probability within sectors. A quick count of households was conducted in each of the selected EAs, and a final selection of over 4,000 EAs was made over the entire country, with probability proportional to size. This constitutes the NISH master sample from which the NDHS EAs were subsampled.

Prior to the NDHS selection of EAs, the urban and semiurban sectors of NISH were combined into one category, while the rural retained the NISH classification. A sample of about 10,000 households in 299 EAs was designed with twofold oversampling of the urban stratum, yielding 132 urban EAs and 167 rural EAs. The sample was constructed so as to provide national estimates as well as estimates for the four Ministry of Health regions.

The NDHS conducted its own EA identification and listing operation; a new listing of housing units and households was compiled in each of the selected 299 EAs. For each EA, a list of the names of the head of households was constructed, from which a systematic sample of 34 households was selected to be interviewed. A fixed number of 34 households per EA was taken in order to have better control of the sample size (given the variability in EA size of the NISH sample). Thus, the NDHS sample is a weighted sample, maintaining the twofold over sampling of the urban sector.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face

Research instrument

Three questionnaires were used in the main fieldwork for the NDHS: a) the household questionnaire, b) the individual questionnaire, and c) the service availability questionnaire. The first two questionnaires were adapted from the DHS model B questionnaire, which was designed for use in countries with low contraceptive prevalence. The questionnaires were developed in English, and then translated into six of the major Nigerian languages: Efik, Hausa, Igbo, Kanuri,

In Nigeria, Chad, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, the maternal mortality rate was over 650 per 100,000 live births in 2023, respectively. Nigeria recorded the highest rate on the continent. That year, for every 100,000 children, 993 mothers died from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management. The maternal death rate in Chad equaled 748. South Sudan and the Central African Republic followed with 692 deaths per 100,000 live births each.

In 2021, the main causes of death among children aged under five in Nigeria were neonatal disorders. More specifically, close to 32 percent of all deaths were caused by neonatal disorders. Among the main cases of infant mortality in Nigeria, there were malaria, lower respiratory infections, and diarrheal diseases.

This dataset contains data from WHO's data portal covering the following categories:

Adolescent, Ageing, Air pollution, Assistive technology, Child, Child mortality, Cross-cutting, Dementia diagnosis, treatment and care, Environment and health, Foodborne Diseases Estimates, Global Dementia Observatory (GDO), Global Health Estimates: Life expectancy and leading causes of death and disability, Global Information System on Alcohol and Health, Global Patient Safety Observatory, Global strategy, HIV, Health financing, Health systems, Health taxes, Health workforce, Hepatitis, Immunization coverage and vaccine-preventable diseases, Malaria, Maternal and newborn, Maternal and reproductive health, Mental health, Neglected tropical diseases, Noncommunicable diseases, Nutrition, Oral Health, Priority health technologies, Resources for Substance Use Disorders, Road Safety, SDG Target 3.8 | Achieve universal health coverage (UHC), Sexually Transmitted Infections, Tobacco control, Tuberculosis, Vaccine-preventable communicable diseases, Violence prevention, Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), World Health Statistics.

For links to individual indicator metadata, see resource descriptions.

In Nigeria, political, economic, and social grievances are causing violence and deaths. Several militant groups are active in the country, leading to attacks on both civilian and military targets. Boko Haram is the deadliest terrorist group, an affiliate of the Islamic State. Confrontations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian State provoked over 22.9 thousand deaths between 2011 and 2023. Nigeria is the country most affected by the terrorist group's attacks. However, Boko Haram is responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. The Nigerian State of Borno is by far the most threatened state, in that, Boko Haram has caused around 34 thousand deaths in this area. Among the news on attacks mostly present in the media, the kidnapping of 276 female students from a secondary school in Borno in 2014 received a global response. As of April 2021, over 100 girls were still missing, and six students were believed to have died.

As of 2023, the mortality rate of infants aged under one-year-old in Nigeria was measured at 55.17. This means that there were about 55 deaths of children under the age of one year per 1,000 live births. Child mortality rates in Africa are very high. Among the countries with the highest infant mortality rate in the world, almost all of them are African countries. Similarly, maternal mortality rates are high. In 2017, Nigeria recorded 917 deaths of mothers per 100,000 live births.

This statistic shows the 20 countries* with the highest infant mortality rate in 2024. An estimated 101.3 infants per 1,000 live births died in the first year of life in Afghanistan in 2024. Infant and child mortality Infant mortality usually refers to the death of children younger than one year. Child mortality, which is often used synonymously with infant mortality, is the death of children younger than five. Among the main causes are pneumonia, diarrhea – which causes dehydration – and infections in newborns, with malnutrition also posing a severe problem. As can be seen above, most countries with a high infant mortality rate are developing countries or emerging countries, most of which are located in Africa. Good health care and hygiene are crucial in reducing child mortality; among the countries with the lowest infant mortality rate are exclusively developed countries, whose inhabitants usually have access to clean water and comprehensive health care. Access to vaccinations, antibiotics and a balanced nutrition also help reducing child mortality in these regions. In some countries, infants are killed if they turn out to be of a certain gender. India, for example, is known as a country where a lot of girls are aborted or killed right after birth, as they are considered to be too expensive for poorer families, who traditionally have to pay a costly dowry on the girl’s wedding day. Interestingly, the global mortality rate among boys is higher than that for girls, which could be due to the fact that more male infants are actually born than female ones. Other theories include a stronger immune system in girls, or more premature births among boys.

Summary of findings from KII on NCDs policy implementation.