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.

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 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.

Graph and download economic data for Infant Mortality Rate for Lower Middle Income Countries (SPDYNIMRTINLMC) from 1990 to 2022 about mortality, infant, income, and rate.

Chart and table of the U.K. infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

United States US: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 6.000 Ratio in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.200 Ratio for 2015. United States US: Mortality Rate: Infant: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 6.800 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.400 Ratio in 1990 and a record low of 6.000 Ratio in 2017. United States US: 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 United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: 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.

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.

Belarus BY: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 1.900 Ratio in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.000 Ratio for 2021. Belarus BY: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 12.300 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2022, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.400 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 1.900 Ratio in 2022. Belarus BY: 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 Belarus – Table BY.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.

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

Cameroon CM: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 47.000 Ratio in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 48.300 Ratio for 2021. Cameroon CM: Mortality Rate: Infant: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 89.300 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2022, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 165.600 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 47.000 Ratio in 2022. Cameroon CM: 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 Cameroon – Table CM.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.

Chart and table of the Portugal infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the Denmark infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the Africa infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the World infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the Jordan infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Between 2020 and 2025, Pakistan had the highest infant mortality rate throughout South Asia, with an estimated 56 infant deaths for every one thousand live births. Comparatively, there were five infant deaths for every one thousand live births in the Maldives between 2020 to 2025.

Chart and table of the Germany infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the Finland infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the Iran infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

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

Global Male Infant Mortality Rate by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!