In 2023, the infant mortality rate in Japan did not change in comparison to the previous year. The infant mortality rate remained at 1.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate is the number of newborns who do not survive past the first 12 months of life. This is generally expressed as a value per 1,000 live births, and also includes neonatal mortality (deaths within the first 28 days of life).Find more statistics on other topics about Japan with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, total fertility rate, and death rate.

Historical chart and dataset showing Japan infant mortality rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

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

The infant mortality rate in Japan, for children under the age of one year old, was 166 deaths per thousand births in 1920. This means that for all babies born in 1920, just under 17 percent did survive past their first birthday. This rate decreased gradually and consistently over the next century, and today, Japan has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, with approximately 99.8% of all babies surviving past their first birthday.

Graph and download economic data for Infant Mortality Rate for Japan (SPDYNIMRTINJPN) from 1960 to 2023 about mortality, infant, Japan, and rate.

The child mortality rate in Japan, for children under the age of five, was 363 deaths per thousand births in 1865. This meant that for every one thousand babies born in 1865, over 36 percent did not survive past their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 155 years, this number dropped drastically. Child mortality reached its lowest point ever in the five year span between 2015 and 2020, at just two deaths per one thousand births. This was the lowest of any country in the world.

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

JP: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 2.100 Ratio in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 2.100 Ratio for 2015. JP: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 2.500 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.900 Ratio in 1990 and a record low of 2.100 Ratio in 2016. JP: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank: Health Statistics. Infant mortality rate, male is the number of male infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 male 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.

This statistic shows the 20 countries * with the lowest infant mortality rate in 2024. An estimated 1.5 out of 1,000 live births died in the first year of life in Slovenia and Singapore in 2024. Infant mortality Infant mortality rates are often used as an indicator of the health and well-being of a nation. Monaco, Iceland, and Japan are among the top three countries with the lowest infant mortality rates with around 2 infant deaths per 1,000 infants within their first year of life. Generally, the countries with the lowest infant mortality also have some of the highest average life expectancy figures. Additionally, the countries with the highest density of physicians and doctors also generally report low infant mortality. Yet, many different factors contribute to differing rates, including the overall income of a country, health spending per capita, a mother’s level of education, environmental conditions, and medical infrastructure, to name a few. This creates a lot of variation concerning the level of childbirth and infant care around the world. The countries with the highest rates of infant mortality include Afghanistan, Mali, and Somalia. These countries experience around 100 infant deaths per 1,000 infants in their first year of life. While the reasons for high rates of infant mortality are numerous, the leading causes of death for children under the year five around the world are Pneumonia, Diarrhea, and Prematurity.

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

Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) in Japan was reported at 1.8 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

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

In 2023, congenital deformities and chromosomal abnormalities became the most common cause for infant death among girls in Japan, accounting for 36.7 percent of all cases. Around 14.5 percent of infant girls in Japan died due to respiratory and cardiovascular disorders during the perinatal period. Overall, 629 infant deaths in girls were recorded in Japan in that year.

Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Infant Mortality Rate data was reported at 0.900 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.000 % for 2016. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Infant Mortality Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 6.600 % from Dec 1947 (Median) to 2017, with 71 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 76.700 % in 1947 and a record low of 0.900 % in 2017. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Infant Mortality Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G005: Vital Statistics.

Forecast: Total Infant Mortality Rates in Japan 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

【リソース】Volume 1_6-1_Trends in infant deaths, infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births), sex ratio and proportion of infant deaths to total deaths:Japan / Volume 1_6-2_Trends in neonatal deaths, neonatal mortality rates (per 1,000 live births), sex ratio and proportion of neonatal deaths to infant deaths:Japan / Volume 1_6-3_Infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) and percent distribution by sex and age (days, weeks and months):Japan, 2017 / Volume 1_6-4_Trends in infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by sex and age (days, weeks and months):Japan / Volume 1_6-5_Trends in infant deaths and infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) by month:Japan / Volume 1_6-6_Live births, infant deaths and infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) by months of birth:Japan / Volume 1_6-7_Trends in infant deaths and percent distribution by place of occurrence:Japan / Volume 1_6-8_Percent distribution of infant deaths by place of occurrence:Japan, each prefecture and 21 major cities, 2017 / Volume 1_6-9_Infant deaths, infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) and percent distribution by type of occupation of household:Japan, 2017 / Volume 1_6-10_Trends in infant deaths by each prefecture:Japan / Volume 1_6-11_Trends in infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) by each prefecture:Japan / Volume 1_6-12_Infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by age and proportion of neonatal deaths:Japan, each prefecture and 21 major cities, 2017 / Volume 1_6-13_Trends in infant deaths and infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by causes (the list of causes of infant death):Japan / Volume 1_6-14_Infant deaths and infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by age and causes (the list of causes of infant death):Japan, 2017 / Volume 1_6-15_Percent distribution of infant deaths by age and causes (the list of causes of infant death):Japan, 2017 / Volume 1_6-16_Trends in leading causes of neonatal and infant death:Japan / Volume 1_6-17_Infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by causes (the list of causes of infant death):Japan, each prefecture and 21 major cities, 2017 / Volume 1_6-18_Infant deaths and infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by diseases, causes (the list of causes of infant death) and birth weight:Japan, 2017 / Volume 1_6-19_Neonatal deaths and neonatal mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by diseases, causes (the list of causes of infant death) and birth weight:Japan, 2017 / Volume 2_1_Infant deaths (under 1 year), neonatal deaths (under 4 weeks) by sex and month of occurrence:Japan, urban/rural residence, each prefecture and 21 major cities / Volume 2_2_Infant deaths (under 1 year) by age and sex:Japan, urban/rural residence, each prefecture and 21 major cities / Volume 2_3_Infant deaths (under 1 year) by age, sex and type of occupation of household:Japan / Volume 2_4_Infant deaths (under 1 year) by month of occurrence and date of birth:Japan / Volume 2_5_Infant deaths (under 1 year) from diseases, birth weight and mean birth weight by sex, plurality of birth and age of mother:Japan / Volume 2_6_Infant deaths (under 1 year) from diseases, birth weight and mean birth weight by sex, plurality of birth and birth order:Japan / Volume 2_7_Infant deaths (under 1 year) from diseases, birth weight and mean birth weight by sex and period of gestation:Japan / Volume 3_1_Infant deaths (under 1 year) by causes (the list of causes of infant death), sex and age:Japan / Volume 3_2_Infant deaths (under 1 year) and neonatal deaths (under 4 weeks) by causes (the list of causes of infant death) and sex:Japan, each prefecture and 21 major cities / Volume 3_3_Infant deaths (under 1 year) and neonatal deaths (under 4 weeks) by causes (the list of causes of infant death), sex and month of occurrence:Japan / Volume 3_4_Infant deaths (under 1 year), neonatal deaths (under 4 weeks) and early neonatal deaths (under 1 week) from diseases by causes (the list of causes of infant death), sex and birth weight:Japan / Volume 3_5_Infant deaths (under 1 year), neonatal deaths (under 4 weeks) and early neonatal deaths (under 1 week) from diseases by causes (the list of causes of infant death), sex and specified period of gestation:Japan / Vital Statistics_Vital statistics of Japan_Final data_Infant mortality_Yearly_2017 / Volume 1_6-1_Trends in infant deaths, infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births), sex ratio and proportion of infant deaths to total deaths:Japan,Volume 1_6-2_Trends in neonatal deaths, neonatal mortality rates (per 1,000 live births), sex ratio and proportion of neonatal deaths to infant deaths:Japan,Volume 1_6-3_Infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) and percent distribution by sex and age (days, weeks and months):Japan, 2017,Volume 1_6-4_Trends in infant mortality rates (per 100,000 live births) by sex and age (days, weeks and months):Japan,Volume 1_6-5_Trends in infant deaths and infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) by month:Japan,Vo

Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births) in Japan was reported at 1.7 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Infant Mortality data was reported at 1,761.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,928.000 Person for 2016. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Infant Mortality data is updated yearly, averaging 9,969.000 Person from Dec 1947 (Median) to 2017, with 71 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 205,360.000 Person in 1947 and a record low of 1,761.000 Person in 2017. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Infant Mortality data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G005: Vital Statistics.

Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) in Japan was reported at 1.9 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In 2022, Pakistan had the highest infant mortality rate in the Asia-Pacific region, around 51 deaths per 1,000 live births. Japan and Singapore had the lowest infant mortality rates in APAC that year.