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

The infant mortality rate in China declined to 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. As a result, the infant mortality rate in China saw its lowest number in 2023 with 4.5 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).

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

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Infant Mortality Rate for China (SPDYNIMRTINCHN) from 1969 to 2023 about mortality, infant, China, and rate.

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.

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.

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

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

China: Infant deaths per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 5 deaths per 1000 live births, unchanged from 5 deaths per 1000 live births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 19 deaths per 1000 live births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for China from 1969 to 2022 is 34 deaths per 1000 live births. The minimum value, 5 deaths per 1000 live births, was reached in 2021 while the maximum of 83 deaths per 1000 live births was recorded in 1969.

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 June of 2025.

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.

Forecast: Male 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!

In 2023, the mortality rate in different regions in China varied from around 9.8 deaths per 1,000 people (per mille) in Heilongjiang province to 5.4 deaths per 1,000 in Guangdong. The average national mortality rate ranged at around 7.9 per mille that year.

Infant mortality rate is number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Data are for Santa Clara County residents. The measure is summarized for total county population, by race/ethnicity and Asian/Pacific Islander subgroups. Data are presented for single years at county level and pooled years combined for population subgroups. Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department, 2007-2015 Birth Statistical Master File; Santa Clara County Public Health Department, VRBIS, 2007-2015. Data as of 05/26/2017.METADATA:Notes (String): Lists table title, sourceYear (String): Year of death. Pooled data years are used for certain categories to meet the minimum data requirements.Category (String): Lists the category representing the data: Santa Clara County is for total population, race/ethnicity: African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino and White (non-Hispanic White only), and Asian/Pacific Islander subgroups: Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Pacific Islanders.Rate per 1,000 live births (Numeric): Infant mortality rate is number of infant (under the age of 1 year) deaths in a year per 1,000 live births in the same time period.

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

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

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