Infant mortality rates in the United States reveal significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups. In 2023, Black mothers faced the highest rate at nearly 11 deaths per 1,000 live births, more than double the rate for white mothers. This stark contrast persists despite overall improvements in healthcare and highlights the need for targeted interventions to address these inequalities. Birth rates and fertility trends While infant mortality rates vary, birth rates also differ across ethnicities. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women had the highest fertility rate in 2022, with about 2,237.5 births per 1,000 women, far exceeding the national average of 1,656.5. In 2023, this group maintained the highest birth rate at 79 births per 1,000 women. Asian women, by contrast, had a much lower birth rate of around 50 per thousand women. These differences in fertility rates can impact overall population growth and demographic shifts within the United States. Hispanic birth trends and fertility decline The Hispanic population in the United States has experienced significant changes in birth trends over recent decades. In 2021, 885,916 babies were born to Hispanic mothers, with a birth rate of 14.1 per 1,000 of the Hispanic population. This represents a slight increase from the previous year. However, the fertility rate among Hispanic women has declined dramatically since 1990, dropping from 108 children per 1,000 women aged 15-44 to 63.4 in 2021. This decline aligns with broader trends of decreasing fertility rates in more industrialized nations.

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.

In 2023, the infant mortality rate in deaths per 1,000 live births in the United States was 5.5. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by 20.4, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

The USA: 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 the USA from 1960 to 2022 is 12 deaths per 1000 live births. The minimum value, 5 deaths per 1000 live births, was reached in 2021 while the maximum of 26 deaths per 1000 live births was recorded in 1960.

From 2019 to 2021, there were over ** infant deaths per 1,000 live births among non-Hispanic Black women who were obese before pregnancy in the United States. This statistic illustrates the rate of infant mortality in the United States from 2019 to 2021, by maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and race/ethnicity.

In 2023, the state of Mississippi had the highest infant mortality rate in the United States, with around 8.94 deaths per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the age of one. The countries with the lowest infant mortality rates worldwide are Slovenia, Singapore, and Iceland. The countries with the highest infant mortality rates include Afghanistan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic. Infant mortality in the United States The infant mortality rate in the United States has decreased over the past few decades, reaching a low of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. The most common 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 111 infant deaths per 100,000 live births.

The United States has poor birth outcomes, including high rates of infant mortality and substantial racial inequities, compared to other developed nations. However, both overall mortality rates and racial inequities in rates vary across locations, emphasizing the structural forces that shape population health. We used mortality and natality data from the National Vital Statistics System to assess racial inequities in infant mortality rates within the most populous US cities for 2018–2021. Specifically, we: (1) calculate overall and race-specific infant mortality rates for 69 cities and racial inequities in infant mortality for 48 cities; and, (2) analyze associations between these inequities and city-level measures of structural racism. City-level infant mortality rates ranged from 1.96 deaths per 1,000 births in Irvine, CA to 13.92 in Detroit, MI. The non-Hispanic Black infant mortality rate was 2.5 times higher than the non-Hispanic white rate in the US and the Black:white rate ratio was statistically significant in all study cities, ranging from 1.8 (Omaha, NE) to 5.0 (Cincinnati, OH). The Black:white rate ratio was greater than 4.0 in 10 cities. Overall and race-specific infant mortality rates were associated with measures of education, economic status, incarceration, segregation, and diversity. Racial inequities in infant mortality were associated with measures of economic status. Understanding infant mortality inequities at the city level is critical to support the efforts of urban health advocates. Moreover, examining the persistent associations of structural racism with infant mortality will help guide necessary programmatic or policy decisions to reduce infant mortality in US cities.

The average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 14 deaths per 1000 live births. The highest value was in Guyana: 23 deaths per 1000 live births and the lowest value was in Chile: 6 deaths per 1000 live births. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

From 2019 to 2021, overall infant mortality rates in the U.S. were highest among infants of women who received late or no prenatal care and lowest among infants of women who received it in the first trimester. This statistic depicts the infant mortality rate in the United States from 2019 to 2021, by initiation of prenatal care and maternal race/ethnicity.

The average for 2021 based on 19 countries was 15 deaths per 1000 live births. The highest value was in Haiti: 45 deaths per 1000 live births and the lowest value was in Chile: 6 deaths per 1000 live births. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) in North America was reported at 5.7 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births) in North America was reported at 4.8 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

In the period from 2021 to 2023, the infant mortality rate in the United States was 6.45 per 1,000 live births. At that time, the infant mortality rate in small and medium metropolitian counties was 6.06 per 1,000 live births, compared to a rate of 5.06 in large metropolitian counties. The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is higher in rural areas for both neonatal and postneonatal deaths.

Number of deaths and mortality rates, by age group, sex, and place of residence, 1991 to most recent year.

The role of religion and politics in the responses to the coronavirus pandemic raises the question of their influence on the risk of other diseases. This study focuses on age-adjusted death rates of cancer, heart disease, and infant mortality per 1000 live births before the pandemic (2018-2019) and COVID-19 in 2020-2021. Eight hypothesized predictors of health effects were analyzed by examining their correlation to age-adjusted death rates among U.S. states, percentage who pray once or more daily, Republican influence on state health policies as indicated by the percentage vote for Trump in 2016, percent of household incomes below poverty, median family income divided by a cost-of-living index, the Gini income inequality index, urban concentration of the population, physicians per capita, and public health expenditures per capita. Since prayer for divine intervention is common to otherwise diverse religious beliefs and practices, the percentage of people claiming to pray daily in each state was used to indicate potential religious influence. All of the death rates were higher in states where more people claimed to pray daily, and where Trump received a larger percentage of the vote. Except for COVID-19, the death rates were consistently lower in states with higher public health expenditures per capita. Only COVID-19 was correlated to physicians per capita, lower where there were more physicians. Corrected statistically for the other factors, income per cost of living explains no variance. Heart disease and COVID-19 death rates were higher in areas with more income inequality. All of the disease rates were in correlation with more rural populations. Correlation of daily prayer with smoking cigarettes, and neglect of public health recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption and COVID-19 vaccination suggests that prayer may be substituted for preventive practices.

This dataset contains counts of live births to California residents by ZIP Code based on information entered on birth certificates. Final counts are derived from static data and include out-of-state births to California residents. The data tables include births to residents of California by ZIP Code of residence (by residence).

Note that ZIP Codes are intended for mail delivery routing and do not represent geographic regions. ZIP Codes are subject to change over time and may not represent the same locations between different time periods. All ZIP Codes in the list of California ZIP Codes used for validation are included for all years, but this does not mean that the ZIP Code was in use at that time.

Context

The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is a crucial indicator within the Gender Inequality Index (GII), an encompassing measure designed to assess gender disparities and inequities within a society. The GII, an extension of the Human Development Index (HDI), focuses on three primary dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Reproductive health, one of the key dimensions, sheds light on the challenges faced by individuals based on their gender. Within this context, the Maternal Mortality Ratio specifically gauges the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, providing insight into the disparities in health outcomes experienced by women. This indicator reflects the state of maternal health and underscores the importance of addressing reproductive rights to mitigate gender inequalities.

Content

This dataset encompasses extensive historical information regarding gender development indicators on a global scale. Key columns include ISO3 (the ISO3 code assigned to each country/territory), Country (the name of the country or territory), Continent (the continent of the country's location), Hemisphere (the hemisphere in which the country is positioned), Human Development Groups, UNDP Developing Regions, HDI Rank (2021) representing the Human Development Index Rank for the year 2021, and Maternal Mortality Ratio (deaths per 100,000 live births) spanning from 1990 to 2021.

Dataset Glossary (Column-wise)

• ISO3 - ISO3 for the Country/Territory
• Country - Name of the Country/Territory
• Continent - Name of the Continent
• Hemisphere - Name of the Hemisphere
• Human Development Groups - Human Development Groups
• UNDP Developing Regions - UNDP Developing Regions
• HDI Rank (2021) - Human Development Index Rank for 2021
• Maternal Mortality Ratio (deaths per 100,000 live births) from 1990 to 2021 - Maternal Mortality Ratio from 1990 to 2021

Data Dictionary

• UNDP Developing Regions:
  • SSA - Sub-Saharan Africa
  • LAC - Latin America and the Caribbean
  • EAP - East Asia and the Pacific
  • AS - Arab States
  • ECA - Europe and Central Asia
  • SA - South Asia

Structure of the Dataset

https://i.imgur.com/d1iGY3d.png" alt="">

Acknowledgement

This Dataset is created from Human Development Reports. This Dataset falls under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO License. You can check the Terms of Use of this Data. If you want to learn more, visit the Website.

Cover Photo by: Image by gstudioimagen1 on Freepik

Thumbnail by: Baby icons created by Victoruler - Flaticon

The dataset presents life expectancy at birth estimates based on annual complete period life tables for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) in 2021 for the total, male and female populations.

This scatter chart displays birth rate (per 1,000 people) against death rate (per 1,000 people) in Northern America. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

This dataset contains counts of live births for California counties based on information entered on birth certificates. Final counts are derived from static data and include out of state births to California residents, whereas provisional counts are derived from incomplete and dynamic data. Provisional counts are based on the records available when the data was retrieved and may not represent all births that occurred during the time period.

The final data tables include both births that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence) and births to California residents (by residence), whereas the provisional data table only includes births that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence). The data are reported as totals, as well as stratified by parent giving birth's age, parent giving birth's race-ethnicity, and birth place type. See temporal coverage for more information on which strata are available for which years.