In the 2022-2023 reporting period, 9.55 infants per 1,000 live births died before the age of one in the Northern Territory in Australia. In comparison, New South Wales recorded 2.81 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

In 2023, the infant mortality rate in deaths per 1,000 live births in Australia was 3.1. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by 17.3, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

The infant mortality rate in Australia, for children under the age of one year old, was 111 deaths per thousand births in 1870. This means that for all babies born in 1870, over eleven percent did not survive past their first birthday. Over the course of the next 150 years, this number has dropped significantly, reaching its lowest point ever in 2020 to three deaths per thousand births.

In Australia during the 2022-2023 reporting period, about 3.32 infants out of 1,000 died before the age of one year. This figure represents a slight increase compared to the 2021-2022 period.

Australia Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 3.100 Ratio in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.200 Ratio for 2022. Australia Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 6.900 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.400 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 3.100 Ratio in 2023. Australia 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 Australia – Table AU.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.

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

Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) in Australia was reported at 3.4 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - 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.

The average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 19 deaths per 1000 live births. The highest value was in Kiribati: 45 deaths per 1000 live births and the lowest value was in Australia: 3 deaths per 1000 live births. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Australia Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 3.700 Ratio in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 3.700 Ratio for 2022. Australia Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 8.450 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24.900 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 3.700 Ratio in 2023. Australia Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified 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. This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.2.1[https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Australia Number of Death: Infant data was reported at 953.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 963.000 Person for 2022. Australia Number of Death: Infant data is updated yearly, averaging 1,805.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,682.000 Person in 1971 and a record low of 953.000 Person in 2023. Australia Number of Death: Infant data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Number of infants dying before reaching one year of age.;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.

Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births) in Australia was reported at 2.9 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

The child mortality rate in Australia, for children under the age of five, was 391 deaths per thousand births in 1860. This means that just under forty percent of all children born in 1860 did not make it to their fifth birthday. This number dropped drastically over the next ten years, then it remained between 150 and two hundred for the remainder of the 1800s, before dropping consistently from 1900 until today. By 2020, child mortality in Australia is expected to be approximately four deaths per thousand births.

Number of infant deaths in Australia was reported at 953 deaths in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Number of infant deaths - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

This dataset presents the footprint of the percentage of deaths of infants and young children per 1,000 live births. The data spans every two years between 2010-2016 and is aggregated to Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) geographic boundaries from the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The Child and Maternal Health Indicators have been calculated from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Mortality Database and Register of Births and National Perinatal Data Collection. This measure has been calculated with the numerator as the number of deaths from birth to less than 5 years, and the denominator as the total number of live births. For further information about this dataset, visit the data source:Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Child and Maternal Health Data Tables. Please note:

Deaths are attributed to the area in which the infant or child usually resided, irrespective of where they died.

Births are attributed to the area of usual residence of the mother, not location of birth.

Deaths are reported by year of registration of death.

Data for 2010 have been adjusted for the additional deaths arising from outstanding registrations of deaths in Queensland in 2010.

Mortality rates for an area are suppressed for publication and marked as 'NP' if the total number of live births for the area is less than 100.

Infant deaths (12 months old or younger) and youth deaths (between 1 and 4 years of age), 2010-14 (all entries that were classified as not shown, not published or not applicable were assigned a null value; no data was provided for Maralinga Tjarutja LGA, in South Australia). Data uses the LGA 2015 profile (based on the LGA 2011 geographic boundaries). For more information on statistics used please refer to the PHIDU website, available from: http://phidu.torrens.edu.au/. Source: Data compiled by PHIDU from deaths data based on the 2010 to 2014 Cause of Death Unit Record Files supplied by the Australian Coordinating Registry and the Victorian Department of Justice. The births data for 2010 to 2014 were compiled from the ABS National Regional Profile, 2010-14. The population is the ABS Estimated Resident Population (ERP), 30 June 2010 to 30 June 2014, the population standard is the ABS ERP for Australia, 30 June 2010 to 30 June 2014.

In 2018, the male infant mortality rate for indigenous boys in the Australian state of South Australia amounted to 3.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 3.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births for non-indigenous boys in South Australia.

Maternal Mortality Ratio per 100,000

The maternal mortality rate in Australia in 2018 was 5 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth.

From 2009 to 2018, there were 251 women reported to have died during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy and a maternal mortality rate of 6.7 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth.

Further information can be found here: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/maternal-deaths-in-australia/data

Infant mortality rate, ACT and Australia, 2006–16. Source: ABS.Stat © Commonwealth of Australia, 12 June 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia Note: This indicator also represents a small number of infants, most of which would die as a result of complications of prematurity.

In 2020 the child mortality rate of indigenous peoples in Australia under the age of five was 147.5 deaths per 100,000. By comparison, the non-Indigenous child mortality rate was less than half that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the country. In 2008 the Australian government made a commitment to achieving equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the Closing the Gap framework. One of the commitments made by this framework was to halve the Indigenous child mortality rate in the country over a decade from 2008. Although some progress was made, this target was not achieved.

Australia Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 6.900 Ratio in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.300 Ratio for 2022. Australia Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 7.050 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.100 Ratio in 1968 and a record low of 6.300 Ratio in 2020. Australia Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude death rate indicates the number of deaths occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics; (4) United Nations Statistics Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years).;Weighted average;