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

At the beginning of the 20th century, the infant mortality rate fluctuated around 300 deaths per thousand live births, meaning that roughly three in ten infants born in these years would not survive past their first birthday. Since 1910, however, Chile's infant mortality rate has consistently fallen, apart from a brief rise in the 1930s as Chile was hit particularly hard by the Great Depression. Infant mortality would fall at its fastest rate in the 1940s and 1950s, due to the expansion of several vaccination campaigns and the introduction of a national healthcare system, which saw dramatic improvements in natal health in the country. While many of thee healthcare initiatives were scaled back by the new administration in the 1950s, infant mortality has continued to fall, although it has stagnated in recent decades. Nonetheless, infant mortality in Chile in 2020is estimated to be just seven deaths per thousand births, meaning that over 99 percent of all newborns will make it past their first birthday.

Actual value and historical data chart for Chile Number Of Infant Deaths

Chile CL: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 6.200 Ratio in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.900 Ratio for 2022. Chile CL: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 14.200 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 124.000 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 5.800 Ratio in 2021. Chile CL: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Chile – Table CL.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Infant mortality rate is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.;Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.;Weighted average;Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys. 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.

In 2023, the infant mortality rate in deaths per 1,000 live births in Chile was 6.2. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by 117.8, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

6.2 (deaths per thousand 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.

Actual value and historical data chart for Chile Mortality Rate Infant Per 1 000 Live Births

In 1890, the child mortality rate in Chile was 417 deaths per thousand live births, meaning that almost 42 percent of children born in this year would not survive past their fifth birthday. The child mortality rate would fluctuate greatly in the following two decades, even rising above 500 at the turn of the 20thcentury; although it then began trending downward in 1910 (apart from a brief reversal during the Great Depression in the early-1930s). There are several reasons for this overall downward trend, such as improvements to public sanitation, the roll-out of mass immunization and vaccination campaigns, and later, the implementation of a national health care system. These factors combined to eradication of many illnesses which were the primary cause of child mortality in the country. As Chile continues to modernize and healthcare access improves, child mortality has continued to decline; as a result, in 2020, it is estimated that over 99 percent of all babies born in Chile today will survive past their fifth birthday.

The average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 14 deaths per 1000 live births. The highest value was in Guyana: 23 deaths per 1000 live births and the lowest value was in Chile: 6 deaths per 1000 live births. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) in Chile was reported at 6.7 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Chile - Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

The average for 2021 based on 19 countries was 15 deaths per 1000 live births. The highest value was in Haiti: 45 deaths per 1000 live births and the lowest value was in Chile: 6 deaths per 1000 live births. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Abstract The article explores the characteristics of infant mortality in Santiago during a historical period in which the demographic indicators reached very high figures turning the phenomenon into a medical and political issue. After commenting on historiographic data, it demonstrates the behavior of the infant population quantitatively, taking into account primary sources – from medicine, the press and civil records – and bibliography. It also exposes the motives employed by the elite to justify the children’s deaths: materially, morally and culturally. The conclusion addresses the promulgation of the defenseless child law, the beginnings of knowledge on child health and the inauguration of the Child Hospital.

Bivariate analysis of infant mortality according to maternal and child factors, Chile 1990–2016.

In 2023, the crude birth rate in live births per 1,000 inhabitants in Chile was ****. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by *****, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Chile CL: Completeness of Infant Death Reporting data was reported at 100.000 % in 2008. This stayed constant from the previous number of 100.000 % for 2007. Chile CL: Completeness of Infant Death Reporting data is updated yearly, averaging 100.000 % from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2008, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in 2008 and a record low of 100.000 % in 2008. Chile CL: Completeness of Infant Death Reporting data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Chile – Table CL.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Completeness of infant death reporting is the number of infant deaths reported by national statistics authorities to the United Nations Statistics Division's Demography Yearbook divided by the number of infant deaths estimated by the United Nations Population Division.; ; The United Nations Statistics Division's Population and Vital Statistics Report and the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects.; ;

This scatter chart displays death rate (per 1,000 people) against birth rate (per 1,000 people) in Chile. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

Chile CL: Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data was reported at 79.240 Year in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 76.828 Year for 2022. Chile CL: Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 71.014 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 79.240 Year in 2023 and a record low of 54.840 Year in 1960. Chile CL: Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Chile – Table CL.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;

Throughout the second half of the 19th century, Chile's annual crude birth rate fluctuated between 35 and 45 births per thousand people, meaning that approximately four percent of the population was born in each year. A variety of factors caused this fluctuation, such as political and economic instability, and intermittent epidemics. Chile's birth rate then jumped to 46 births per thousand people in the early 1900s, before the rate of decline then became more gradual. Apart from a brief increase during the global baby boom that followed the Second World War, Chile's birth rate has fallen consistently in each five-year period since then (although it did stagnate in the 1980s). In 2020, it is estimated that Chile has a crude birth rate of 12.5 births per thousand people.

Historical dataset showing Chile birth rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

The aim of this study was to conduct a review of the health and nutritional status of Chilean indigenous children, specifically Mapuche children, as published in the literature and specific population-based studies. The searches were conducted in PubMed and LILACS in the last 15 years. From 2006 to 2015, the poverty rate was higher in the indigenous population, with a decrease in the gap from 16% in 2006 to 7.7% in 2015 (p < 0.001). In the first decade of this century, infant mortality in indigenous children was 17.1/1,000 live births, while in non-indigenous children it was 8.8/1,000, and the gap was maintained in the five-year follow-up (p < 0.001). Newborns with birthweight < 2,500g in the year 2000 did not reach 6% (5.6% in non-indigenous and 5.2% in indigenous children). Low height at first school enrollment was 8.4% in indigenous schoolchildren and 3.1% in non-indigenous children, decreasing to 3.7% in indigenous children and 2.6% in non-indigenous children in 2004, while obesity increased more in indigenous children, reaching 24.2% in indigenous and 25.3% in non-indigenous children (p < 0.001). Menarche appeared four months later on average in indigenous girls (12.7 years), and body mass index, waist circumference, and fat mass were significantly greater in indigenous girls at the time of thelarche, as was the overweight rate (55%, vs. 42% in non-indigenous). Mapuche children show favorable health and nutritional status compared to indigenous children elsewhere in Latin America, but there is still an adverse gap compared to non-indigenous Chilean children. This inequality affecting indigenous Chilean children should be acknowledged and corrected.