The leading causes of infant death in the United States are congenital malformations, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome. In 2023, congenital malformations accounted for around 20 percent of all infant deaths in the United States. Infant mortality in the United States Infant mortality refers to the death of a child under the age of one. In the United States, there were around 20,577 infant deaths in 2022. However, the infant mortality rate in the United States has decreased steadily over the past few decades. In 1990, the infant mortality rate was 9.4 per 1,000 live births, but had dropped to around 5.4 per 1,000 live births by 2022. Rates of infant mortality do vary depending on the state and region. For example, the infant mortality rate in Mississippi in 2022 was 9.11 per 1,000 live births, compared to a rate of just 3.32 per 1,000 live births in Massachusetts. What is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)? Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the third leading cause of infant death in the United States with a rate of around 40 deaths per 100,000 live births. SIDS is the unexplained death of an infant. In such cases, the baby usually seems to be healthy but suddenly dies, often during sleep. The cause of SIDS is unknown, but may be connected to problems in the brain controlling breathing and waking from sleep. In 2022, there were an estimated 1,531 deaths from SIDS in the United States. Mississippi and Arkansas are the states with the highest rates of sudden unexpected infant death, while Massachusetts and California have the lowest rates.

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and mortality rates for the leading causes of infant death (under one year of age), by sex, 2000 to most recent year.

In 2023, congenital malformations accounted for the largest portion of infant deaths in the United States. That year, there were around *** infant deaths from congenital malformations per 100,000 live births. The leading five causes of infant death in the U.S. were the same from 2019 to 2023.

In 2023, the most significant causes of infant death in the United States were congenital malformations, with 111 deaths per 100,000 live births. This statistic shows the rates of the 10 leading causes of infant death in the United States in 2023.

In 2023, congenital malformations accounted for around 20 percent of infant deaths in the United States. That year there, were around 4,030 infant deaths from congenital malformations. The leading five causes of infant death in the U.S. were the same from 2020 to 2023.

Provisional estimates of infant mortality (deaths of infants under 1 year per 1,000 live births), neonatal mortality (deaths of infants aged 0-27 days per 1,000 live births), postneonatal mortality (deaths of infants aged 28 days through 11 months per 1,000 live births), and death rates for the five leading causes of infant death.

This is a source dataset for a Let's Get Healthy California indicator at https://letsgethealthy.ca.gov/. Infant Mortality is defined as the number of deaths in infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality is often used as an indicator to measure the health and well-being of a community, because factors affecting the health of entire populations can also impact the mortality rate of infants. Although California’s infant mortality rate is better than the national average, there are significant disparities, with African American babies dying at more than twice the rate of other groups. Data are from the Birth Cohort Files. The infant mortality indicator computed from the birth cohort file comprises birth certificate information on all births that occur in a calendar year (denominator) plus death certificate information linked to the birth certificate for those infants who were born in that year but subsequently died within 12 months of birth (numerator). Studies of infant mortality that are based on information from death certificates alone have been found to underestimate infant death rates for infants of all race/ethnic groups and especially for certain race/ethnic groups, due to problems such as confusion about event registration requirements, incomplete data, and transfers of newborns from one facility to another for medical care. Note there is a separate data table "Infant Mortality by Race/Ethnicity" which is based on death records only, which is more timely but less accurate than the Birth Cohort File. Single year shown to provide state-level data and county totals for the most recent year. Numerator: Infants deaths (under age 1 year). Denominator: Live births occurring to California state residents. Multiple years aggregated to allow for stratification at the county level. For this indicator, race/ethnicity is based on the birth certificate information, which records the race/ethnicity of the mother. The mother can “decline to state”; this is considered to be a valid response. These responses are not displayed on the indicator visualization.

Number of infant deaths and infant mortality rates, by age group (neonatal and post-neonatal), 1991 to most recent year.

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.

U.S. infant mortality rate for 2025 is 5.20, a 2.58% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>U.S. infant mortality rate for 2024 was <strong>5.34</strong>, a <strong>2.87% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>U.S. infant mortality rate for 2023 was <strong>5.50</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>U.S. infant mortality rate for 2022 was <strong>5.50</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Infant mortality rate is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

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

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.

The Mortality - Infant Deaths (from Linked Birth / Infant Death Records) online databases on CDC WONDER provide counts and rates for deaths of children under 1 year of age, occuring within the United States to U.S. residents. Information from death certificates has been linked to corresponding birth certificates. Data are available by county of mother's residence, child's age, underlying cause of death, sex, birth weight, birth plurality, birth order, gestational age at birth, period of prenatal care, maternal race and ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education and marital status. Data are available since 1995. The data are produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.

In 2022, the infant mortality rate in the United States was 5.4 out of every 1,000 live births. This is a significant decrease from 1960, when infant mortality was at around 26 deaths out of every 1,000 live births. What is infant mortality? The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of babies under the age of one per 1,000 live births. There are many causes for infant mortality, which include birth defects, low birth weight, pregnancy complications, and sudden infant death syndrome. In order to decrease the high rates of infant mortality, there needs to be an increase in education and medicine so babies and mothers can receive the proper treatment needed. Maternal mortality is also related to infant mortality. If mothers can attend more prenatal visits and have more access to healthcare facilities, maternal mortality can decrease, and babies have a better chance of surviving in their first year. Worldwide infant mortality rates Infant mortality rates vary worldwide; however, some areas are more affected than others. Afghanistan suffered from the highest infant mortality rate in 2024, and the following 19 countries all came from Africa, with the exception of Pakistan. On the other hand, Slovenia had the lowest infant mortality rate that year. High infant mortality rates can be attributed to lack of sanitation, technological advancements, and proper natal care. In the United States, Massachusetts had the lowest infant mortality rate, while Mississippi had the highest in 2022. Overall, the number of neonatal and post neonatal deaths in the United States has been steadily decreasing since 1995.

Analysis of ‘Strategic Measure_Infant mortality rate (number of deaths of infants younger than 1-year-old per 1,000 live births)’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/2a716fbb-f883-4a74-ad0b-9d984a06b758 on 26 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

This dataset includes counts of infant births and deaths within Austin city limits by year. The counts are calculated into an infant mortality rate for each year. Both infant deaths and infant births are reported through the Office of Vital Records.

View more details and insights related to this data set on the story page: https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/HE-B-3-Infant-mortality-rate-number-of-deaths-of-i/jwg4-2djc/

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Infant Mortality - Deaths Under 1 Year (Number) by Age Group, Regional Authority, Year and Cause of Death

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Purpose and brief description The feto-infant mortality statistics are compiled on the basis of the declaration form of the death of a child under one year of age or of a stillborn child. Since 2010, the National Register has also been used to more accurately determine the relevant official life events and to check the main information. These statistics break down deaths into those before the age of one year old and infants who were stillborn, per gender, by administrative units of the country, by the main characteristics of the mother (age, civil status, state of union, level of education, professional status, nationality) and by certain characteristics of the delivery and of the newborns (location, way of giving birth, twin birth, weight, duration of the pregnancy, congenital defect). They also produce various indicators of feto-infant mortality and a breakdown of feto-infant deaths according to the age of death. Data collection method The feto-infant mortality statistics are compiled on the basis of two sources: the National Register of Natural Persons (NRPP) and the statistical declaration forms for a child under one year old or stillborn (Model IIID). These forms are an important source on infant mortality and provide a lot of information, especially health data. They also provide information about the circumstances of birth and about the parents of the deceased children. They are the only source of information on stillbirths or late fetal deaths. The information provided by the NR is less extensive, concerns only infant mortality, but is available more quickly; it contains the death of all children residing in Belgium (and therefore registered in the NR), regardless of whether the death took place in Belgium or abroad. Until 2009, these two sources were consolidated in relation to each other, but in the sense that the declaration forms served as a reference, with the NR being used mainly to provide the data that were missing or not requested on the declaration forms. Therefore, only the deaths (that took place in Belgium and were therefore) reported to the Belgian Registry Office were taken into account when compiling the infant mortality statistics, i.e. those for which the stated place of residence was a Belgian municipality. Since 2010, the statistics have been produced with the NR as reference. Henceforth, only the death of a child included in the NR will be taken into account. By using the NR, the death of a child abroad can be included in the statistics. It also makes it possible to acknowledge the death of children registered in the waiting register for refugees and asylum seekers. Population All feto-infant deaths Frequency Annually. Release calendar Results available 1 year after the reference period Definitions Deceased infant: death before the first birthday of a live-born child. Stillborn child: child who, at the time of birth, does not show any sign of life (such as breathing, heartbeat, pulsating of the umbilical cord, effective contraction of a muscle) and weighs at least 500 grams or, if the weight is unknown, had a gestational age of at least 22 weeks. Below this limit, we are talking about a premature fetal death that is not officially declared. Twin birth: Total number of births, including stillbirths, due to pregnancy Place of the child: Place of the child in the totality of living births to the mother Duration of the pregnancy: Duration of the pregnancy (in weeks) at the time of birth Way of giving birth: Type of assistance during birth Congenital defects: Presence of one or more congenital defects Weight: Weight (in grams) of the child at birth Apgar after 1 minute: Apgar score after 1 minute Apgar after 5 minutes: Apgar score after 5 minutes. Region: the child’s region of legal residence. In the case of a stillbirth: the mother’s region of habitual residence at the time of birth. Metadata Foeto-infantiele sterfte.pdf

This data collection consists of six data files, which can be used to determine infant mortality rates in the United States in 1995. For the first time, data for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam were included. Another change in 1995 is a change in format of the linked files. They are now released in two different formats, period data and birth cohort data. This collection represents the period data. Parts 1 and 2 are the Denominator files for the United States and for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, respectively. These files consist of all births in 1995. Variables in these files include year of birth, state and county of birth, characteristics of the infant (age, sex, race, birth weight, gestation), characteristics of the mother (Hispanic origin, race, age, education, marital status, state of birth), characteristics of the father (Hispanic origin, race, age, education), pregnancy items (prenatal care, live births), and medical data. A new variable in the Denominator files for 1995 is clinical estimate of gestation. Parts 3 and 4 are the Numerator files. They provide records of all infant deaths that occurred in 1995 linked to their corresponding birth certificates, whether the birth occurred in 1995 or 1994. Variables in these files include age at death, underlying cause of death, autopsy, place of accident, infant death identification number, exact age at death, day of birth and death, and month of birth and death. New variables in the linked Numerator files for 1995 include a weight and a clinical estimate of gestation. Parts 5 and 6 are the "unlinked" files. They consist of infant death records that could not be linked to their corresponding birth records.

Infant Mortality Deaths Under 1 Year (Number) by Age Group, Cause of Death, Year and Sex

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Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and mortality rates for the leading causes of infant death (under one year of age), by sex, 2000 to most recent year.