The child mortality rate in the United States, for children under the age of five, was 462.9 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that for every thousand babies born in 1800, over 46 percent did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 220 years, this number has dropped drastically, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just seven deaths per thousand births. Although the child mortality rate has decreased greatly over this 220 year period, there were two occasions where it increased; in the 1870s, as a result of the fourth cholera pandemic, smallpox outbreaks, and yellow fever, and in the late 1910s, due to the Spanish Flu pandemic.

The child mortality rate in France, for children under the age of five, was 412 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that more than forty percent of all children born in 1800 did not make it to their fifth birthday. Child mortality remained high in the nineteenth century, before falling at a much faster rate throughout the 1900s. Despite falling consistently during the last 130 years, there were two occasions where child mortality actually increased, which can be attributed to both World Wars and the Spanish Flu Pandemic. In 2020, the child mortality rate in France is expected to be just four deaths per thousand births.

The child mortality rate in Norway, for children under the age of five, was 336 deaths per thousand births in 1815. This means that approximately 34 percent of all children born in 1815 did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 205 years, this number has dropped drastically, particularly from 1865 onwards, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just two deaths per thousand births, which is the lowest in the world. The only times where Norway's child mortality rate increased in the twentieth century was in the 1910s and 1940s, as a result of the Spanish Flu pandemic and the Second World War.

The infant mortality rate in Italy, for children under the age of one year old, was 231 deaths per thousand births in 1865. This means that for all babies born in 1865, over 23 percent did not survive past their first birthday. Over the course of the next 155 years, the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever, amounting to three deaths per thousand births in the period between 2015 and 2020. Since the turn of the twentieth century, infant mortality in Italy has increased just two times, once in the 1910s as a result of the First World War and Spanish Flu pandemic, and then again in the 1940s due to the Second World War.

The child mortality rate in Poland, for children under the age of five, was 369 deaths per thousand births in 1885. For every one thousand babies born in 1885, almost 37 percent did not survive past their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 135 years, this number has dropped drastically, reaching its lowest point ever in the period between 2015 and 2020, at four deaths per thousand births. In Poland's recorded history, there were two periods where the child mortality rate increased, which were in the 1910s and 1930s, mostly due tot he Spanish Flu pandemic that swept across the world, and also the events of the Second World War.

The child mortality rate in the Netherlands, for children under the age of five, was 324 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that just under one third of all children born in 1860 did not make it to their fifth birthday. Child mortality reached its highest recorded level in the Netherlands in the late nineteenth century, as rapid industrialization led to increased urbanization, which in turn allowed diseases to spread much faster, although it did decrease from 1875 until today. The only times where the rate deviated were in the 1910s and 1940s, due to the Spanish Flu pandemic and the Second World War. By 2020, the child mortality rate of the Netherlands is expected to be just three deaths per thousand.

About

The 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects is the twenty-eighth edition of official United Nations population estimates and projections that have been prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. It presents population estimates from 1950 to the present for 237 countries or areas, underpinned by analyses of historical demographic trends. This latest assessment considers the results of 1,910 national population censuses conducted between 1950 and 2023, as well as information from vital registration systems and from 3,189 nationally representative sample surveys. The 2024 revision also presents population projections to the year 2100 that reflect a range of plausible outcomes at the global, regional and national levels.

Column Description

• Total Population, as of 1 January (thousands)
• Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)
• Male Population, as of 1 July (thousands)
• Female Population, as of 1 July (thousands)
• Population Density, as of 1 July (persons per square km) (UPDATED on 14 July 2022)
• Population Sex Ratio, as of 1 July (males per 100 females)
• Median Age, as of 1 July (years)
• Natural Change, Births minus Deaths (thousands)
• Rate of Natural Change (per 1,000 population)
• Population Change (thousands)
• Population Growth Rate (percentage)
• Population Annual Doubling Time (years)
• Births (thousands)
• Births by women aged 15 to 19 (thousands)
• Crude Birth Rate (births per 1,000 population)
• Total Fertility Rate (live births per woman)
• Net Reproduction Rate (surviving daughters per woman)
• Mean Age Childbearing (years)
• Sex Ratio at Birth (males per 100 female births)
• Total Deaths (thousands)
• Male Deaths (thousands)
• Female Deaths (thousands)
• Crude Death Rate (deaths per 1,000 population)
• Life Expectancy at Birth, both sexes (years)
• Male Life Expectancy at Birth (years)
• Female Life Expectancy at Birth (years)
• Life Expectancy at Age 15, both sexes (years)
• Male Life Expectancy at Age 15 (years)
• Female Life Expectancy at Age 15 (years)
• Life Expectancy at Age 65, both sexes (years)
• Male Life Expectancy at Age 65 (years)
• Female Life Expectancy at Age 65 (years)
• Life Expectancy at Age 80, both sexes (years)
• Male Life Expectancy at Age 80 (years)
• Female Life Expectancy at Age 80 (years)
• Infant Deaths, under age 1 (thousands)
• Infant Mortality Rate (infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
• Live Births Surviving to Age 1 (thousands)
• Under-Five Deaths, under age 5 (thousands)
• Under-Five Mortality (deaths under age 5 per 1,000 live births)
• Mortality before Age 40, both sexes (deaths under age 40 per 1,000 live births)
• Male Mortality before Age 40 (deaths under age 40 per 1,000 male live births)
• Female Mortality before Age 40 (deaths under age 40 per 1,000 female live births)
• Mortality before Age 60, both sexes (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 live births)
• Male Mortality before Age 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 male live births)
• Female Mortality before Age 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 female live births)
• Mortality between Age 15 and 50, both sexes (deaths under age 50 per 1,000 alive at age 15)
• Male Mortality between Age 15 and 50 (deaths under age 50 per 1,000 males alive at age 15)
• Female Mortality between Age 15 and 50 (deaths under age 50 per 1,000 females alive at age 15)
• Mortality between Age 15 and 60, both sexes (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 alive at age 15)
• Male Mortality between Age 15 and 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 males alive at age 15)
• Female Mortality between Age 15 and 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 females alive at age 15)
• Net Number of Migrants (thousands)
• Net Migration Rate (per 1,000 population)

Copyright © 2024 by United Nations, made available under a Creative Commons license CC BY 3.0 IGO: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ Suggested citation: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition.

Foto von kazi arifuzzaman auf Unsplash

In 1900, the child mortality rate of the area of modern-day South Korea was just over five hundred deaths per thousand live births, meaning that over half of all children born in these years would not live beyond their fifth birthday. This rate would spike briefly in 1910, as the Korean peninsula was annexed by the Empire of Japan, before dropping by almost half over the next three decades. In 1940, the child mortality rate had fallen to 265 deaths per thousand births, before rising over three hundred deaths in the years between the Second World war and Korean War.

Following the end of the Korean War with the 1953 armistice, however, child mortality would resume upon its earlier trajectory. As a result, child mortality would fall to just nine deaths per thousand births by the turn of the century, and in 2020, it is estimated that 99.7 percent of children born in South Korea will survive past their fifth birthday.

The infant mortality rate in France, for children under the age of one year old, was 182 deaths per thousand births in 1830. This means that for all babies born in 1830, over eighteen percent did not survive past their first birthday. Over the course of the next two centuries, this number has dropped significantly, reaching its lowest point ever in the 2015 to 2020 period, at three deaths per thousand births. Since the turn of the twentieth century, infant mortality in France has increased just two times, once in the 1910s as a result of the First World War and Spanish Flu pandemic, and then again in the 1940s due to the Second World War.

The infant mortality rate in Germany, for children under the age of one (twelve months), was 295 deaths per thousand births in 1840. This translated into approximately three out of every ten children born in 1840 not surviving past their first birthday. The largest decrease in this 180 year period came in the late 1870s, as Germany introduced mandatory vaccination for children, which brought infant mortality down by almost sixty in this five year period. From the turn of the twentieth century onwards, the infant mortality rate in Germany dropped considerably (although data in and immediately after the Second World War is not available), and by 2020 the number is expected to be just three deaths per thousand births.

The infant mortality rate in Russia, for children under the age of one year old, was over 266 deaths per thousand births in 1870. This means that for all babies born in 1870, over one quarter did not survive past their first birthday. Unfortunately some information is missing in the early twentieth century, during Russia's revolutionary period and again during the Second World War, however it is noticeable that Russia's infant mortality rate fell to one death for every ten babies born in 1955, and from this point the rate has fallen to just six deaths per thousand births today.

From the mid-19th century until today, life expectancy at birth in the United States has roughly doubled, from 39.4 years in 1850 to 79.6 years in 2025. It is estimated that life expectancy in the U.S. began its upward trajectory in the 1880s, largely driven by the decline in infant and child mortality through factors such as vaccination programs, antibiotics, and other healthcare advancements. Improved food security and access to clean water, as well as general increases in living standards (such as better housing, education, and increased safety) also contributed to a rise in life expectancy across all age brackets. There were notable dips in life expectancy; with an eight year drop during the American Civil War in the 1860s, a seven year drop during the Spanish Flu empidemic in 1918, and a 2.5 year drop during the Covid-19 pandemic. There were also notable plateaus (and minor decreases) not due to major historical events, such as that of the 2010s, which has been attributed to a combination of factors such as unhealthy lifestyles, poor access to healthcare, poverty, and increased suicide rates, among others. However, despite the rate of progress slowing since the 1950s, most decades do see a general increase in the long term, and current UN projections predict that life expectancy at birth in the U.S. will increase by another nine years before the end of the century.

In 1875, the average person born in Chile could expect to live to the age of 32 years, a figure that would remain largely stagnante throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, as the country’s Parliamentary era would see relatively little change in the day to day lives of the country’s citizens. Outside of two dips in 1910 and 1920, the latter primarily driven by the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. Life expectancy would see two sharp increases following the end of the First World War; the first in the 1920s, and the most dramatic in the early 1950s.

The first of these spikes, under President Ibáñez del Campo, can be attributed primarily to large increases in spending on public healthcare and improvements in public sanitation by the Campo administration. The second and larger spike, under President González Videla, can be attributed to a combination of mass immunization and vaccination, and the implementation of a national health care system, drastically cutting child mortality in the country. As a result of these reforms, life expectancy in Chile would more than double in just thirty years, rising from just over 33 years in 1925 to 69 years by 1955. Following the end of the Videla administration in 1952, life expectancy would continue to rise in Chile, as increasing urbanization, and the successful eradication of many childhood diseases would see both child and overall mortality decline. This rise has continued even into the 21st century, and as a result, life expectancy in Chile rose to over 78 years by the end of the century, and in 2020, it is estimated that the average person born in Chile will live to over 82 years old, the highest in South America.

Life expectancy in the United Kingdom was below 39 years in the year 1765, and over the course of the next two and a half centuries, it is expected to have increased by more than double, to 81.1 by the year 2020. Although life expectancy has generally increased throughout the UK's history, there were several times where the rate deviated from its previous trajectory. These changes were the result of smallpox epidemics in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, new sanitary and medical advancements throughout time (such as compulsory vaccination), and the First world War and Spanish Flu epidemic in the 1910s.

At the beginning of the 1840s, life expectancy from birth in Ireland was just over 38 years. However, this figure would see a dramatic decline with the beginning of the Great Famine in 1845, and dropped below 21 years in the second half of the decade (in 1849 alone, life expectancy fell to just 14 years). The famine came as a result of a Europe-wide potato blight, which had a disproportionally devastating impact on the Irish population due to the dependency on potatoes (particularly in the south and east), and the prevalence of a single variety of potato on the island that allowed the blight to spread faster than in other areas of Europe. Additionally, authorities forcefully redirected much of the country's surplus grain to the British mainland, which exacerbated the situation. Within five years, mass starvation would contribute to the deaths of over one million people on the island, while a further one million would emigrate; this also created a legacy of emigration from Ireland, which saw the population continue to fall until the mid-1900s, and the total population of the island is still well below its pre-famine level of 8.5 million people.

Following the end of the Great Famine, life expectancy would begin to gradually increase in Ireland, as post-famine reforms would see improvements in the living standards of the country’s peasantry, most notably the Land Wars, a largely successful series of strikes, boycotts and protests aimed at reform of the country's agricultural land distribution, which began in the 1870s and lasted into the 20th century. As these reforms were implemented, life expectancy in Ireland would rise to more than fifty years by the turn of the century. While this rise would slow somewhat in the 1910s, due to the large number of Irish soldiers who fought in the First World War and the Spanish Flu pandemic, as well as the period of civil unrest leading up to the island's partition in 1921, life expectancy in Ireland would rise greatly in the 20th century. In the second half of the 20th century, Ireland's healthcare system and living standards developed similarly to the rest of Western Europe, and today, it is often ranks among the top countries globally in terms of human development, GDP and quality of healthcare. With these developments, the increase in life expectancy from birth in Ireland was relatively constant in the first century of independence, and in 2020 is estimated to be 82 years.

In 1800, the population of the area of modern-day Lithuania was estimated to be just under 780,000. Lithuania’s rate of population growth would remain largely unchanged in the 19th century, as the Russian Empire would slowly but gradually develop its border regions. While large numbers of Lithuanians would emigrate west-ward (largely to the United States) between 1867 and 1868 after a famine in the country, growth would remain largely uninterrupted until the beginning of the First World War in 1912, which would see Lithuania, like much of the Baltic region, devastated as the battleground between the German and Russian Empires. As the conflict spread, those who were not made to evacuate by orders from the Russian government would face economic turmoil under German occupation, and as a result, Lithuania’s population would fall from just under 2.9 million in 1910, to under 2.3 million by 1920.

While Lithuania’s population would start to grow once more following the end of the First World War, this growth would be short-lived, as economic turmoil from the Great Depression, and later occupation and campaigns of mass extermination in the Second World War, most notably the extermination of 95 to 97 percent of the country’s Jewish population in the Holocaust, would cause Lithuania’s population growth to stagnate throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In the years following the end of the Second World War, Lithuania’s population would steadily climb, as industrialization by the Soviet Union would lead to improved economic growth and access to health, and campaigns of mass immunization and vaccination would lead to a sharp decline in child mortality. As a result, by the 1990s, Lithuania would have a population of over 3.7 million. However, Lithuania’s population would rapidly decline in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as economic crises and mass emigration from the country, paired with sharp declines in fertility, would result in a dramatic reduction in population. As a result, in 2020, Lithuania is estimated to have a population of just over 2.7 million.

In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood; calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49. In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S.. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. 1871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo; Germany promised a "blank check" of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more.

Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period; something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks; the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi government disregarded the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions and Germany rose once more to become an emerging superpower. Hitler's desire for territorial expansion into eastern Europe and the creation of an ethnically-homogenous German empire then led to the invasion of Poland in 1939, which is considered the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Again, almost every aspect of German life contributed to the war effort, and more than 13 million men were mobilized. After six years of war, and over seven million German deaths, the Axis powers were defeated and Germany was divided into four zones administered by France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the U.S.. Mass displacement, shifting borders, and the relocation of peoples based on ethnicity also greatly affected the population during this time. 1945 to 2020 - Partition and Reunification In the late 1940s, cold war tensions led to two distinct states emerging in Germany; the Soviet-controlled east became the communist German Democratic Republic (DDR), and the three western zones merged to form the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Additionally, Berlin was split in a similar fashion, although its location deep inside DDR territory created series of problems and opportunities for the those on either side. Life quickly changed depending on which side of the border one lived. Within a decade, rapid economic recovery saw West Germany become western Europe's strongest economy and a key international player. In the east, living standards were much lower, although unemployment was almost non-existent; internationally, East Germany was the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc (after the USSR), though it eventually fell behind the West by the 1970s. The restriction of movement between the two states also led to labor shortages in t...

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

Life expectancy in India was 25.4 in the year 1800, and over the course of the next 220 years, it has increased to almost 70. Between 1800 and 1920, life expectancy in India remained in the mid to low twenties, with the largest declines coming in the 1870s and 1910s; this was because of the Great Famine of 1876-1878, and the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919, both of which were responsible for the deaths of up to six and seventeen million Indians respectively; as well as the presence of other endemic diseases in the region, such as smallpox. From 1920 onwards, India's life expectancy has consistently increased, but it is still below the global average.

In 1875, those born in the present-day region of Indonesia lived to an averae age of thirty years. This figure would remain largely stagnant until the 1910s, where the the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic would cause life expectancy to fall to just 27 years as the epidemic spread across the region. Following the end of the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1920, life expectancy would begin to rise in Indonesia, as public works and infrastructure programs by the Dutch colonial administration would see standards of living begin to rise in the country. However, after peaking at 36 years in 1940, life expectancy would fall to just thirty years once more with the invasion and subsequent occupation of the island by the Empire of Japan in 1942; most estimates suggest that between 2.4 and four million people in Indonesia died from famine, forced labor and violence during the Second World War.

Life expectancy would begin rising following the country’s independence from the Dutch in 1949, particularly in the early 1950s as mass immunization and vaccination, combined with rapid modernization would see child mortality and standards of living rise throughout the remainder of the century, reaching over 65 years by the turn of the millennium. This rise in life expectancy has continued in the 21st century, and in 2020, the average person born in Indonesia is expect to live to beyond the age of 71 years.