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Neonatal Mortality Rate

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Neonatal Mortality Rate by Country 2024

The most vulnerable time for a child's survival is the first 28 days of life, known as the neonatal period. It is during this period, just under the first month of a child's life, that they face the highest risk of dying.

Across the globe, children face this risk at an average rate of 18 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to data collected by UNICEF for 2021, the most recent year available. That rate of neonatal death is down by about 51% from 37 deaths per 1,000 live births reported in 1990. Across the world, 2.3 million children died during the neonatal period of the first month of life in 2021, which equaled about 6,400 neonatal deaths per day.

High neonatal mortality rate

Low neonatal mortality rate

U.S. Neonatal mortality rate

The U.S. recorded a relatively low neonatal mortality rate of 3.27, a rate that has decreased in every year since 2016. In that year, the U.S. neonatal mortality rate was reported at 3.84, which is about 17% higher than the rate reported in 2021.

Big disparities in neonatal mortality

Although the neonatal mortality rate has been declining globally, there remains large disparities among countries and across regions. For example, when considering neonatal mortality rate across regions of the globe, the highest rate of 29 deaths per 1,000 live births was in the sub-Saharan Africa region, which is the combination of the West and Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa regions. A child born in sub-Saharan Africa was over 10 times more likely to die in the first month than a child born in a high-income country, according to UNICEF's analysis of data. In South Asia, with the neonatal mortality rate estimated at 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, a child was nine times more likely to die. Across countries, the risk of dying in the first month of life was about 53 times higher in the highest mortality country than in the lowest mortality country.

193 Rows

Country
Neonatal Mortality Rate
South Sudan40
Pakistan39
Somalia36
Nigeria35
Lesotho35
Afghanistan34
Niger34
Guinea Bissau34
Mali33
Ivory Coast32
Chad32
Central African Republic32
Guinea31
Sierra Leone31
Liberia30
Djibouti30
Benin29
Equatorial Guinea29
Yemen28
Mozambique28
Dominica28
DR Congo27
Sudan27
Angola27
Ethiopia26
Cameroon26
Comoros26
Burkina Faso25
Zambia25
Zimbabwe25
Gambia25
Madagascar24
Haiti24
Togo24
Turkmenistan24
Ghana23
Dominican Republic23
Mauritania23
Eswatini23
Myanmar22
Timor Leste22
Senegal21
Papua New Guinea21
Laos21
Kiribati21
Tanzania20
Burundi20
Namibia20
India19
Uganda19
Malawi19
Gabon19
Kenya18
Rwanda18
Republic of the Congo18
Botswana18
Nauru18
Eritrea17
Guyana17
Bangladesh16
Algeria16
Nepal16
Venezuela15
Bhutan15
Iraq14
Tajikistan14
Fiji14
Marshall Islands14
Cambodia13
Bolivia13
Saint Lucia13
Micronesia13
Philippines12
Tunisia12
Kyrgyzstan12
Indonesia11
Vietnam11
South Africa11
Morocco11
Syria11
Guatemala11
Moldova11
Mauritius11
Suriname11
Egypt10
Honduras10
Azerbaijan10
Paraguay10
Jamaica10
Trinidad and Tobago10
Vanuatu10
Grenada10
Saint Kitts and Nevis10
Tuvalu10
Brazil9
Jordan9
Palestine9
Seychelles9
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines9
Palau9
Mexico8
Iran8
Uzbekistan8
North Korea8
Panama8
Mongolia8
Solomon Islands8
Cape Verde8
Barbados8
Sao Tome and Principe8
Colombia7
Peru7
Ecuador7
Nicaragua7
Albania7
Belize7
Samoa7
Libya6
El Salvador6
Armenia6
Brunei6
Turkey5
Thailand5
Argentina5
Ukraine5
Kazakhstan5
Lebanon5
Oman5
Costa Rica5
Kuwait5
Georgia5
Tonga5
British Virgin Islands5
Malaysia4
Sri Lanka4
Chile4
United Arab Emirates4
Serbia4
Uruguay4
Bosnia and Herzegovina4
Malta4
Maldives4
China3
United States3
United Kingdom3
France3
Canada3
Poland3
Saudi Arabia3
Romania3
Netherlands3
Switzerland3
Bulgaria3
Denmark3
New Zealand3
Croatia3
Qatar3
North Macedonia3
Bahrain3
Antigua and Barbuda3
Russia2
Germany2
Italy2
Spain2
Australia2
Belgium2
Cuba2
Portugal2
Greece2
Hungary2
Israel2
Austria2
Ireland2
Lithuania2
Latvia2
Cyprus2
Luxembourg2
Turks and Caicos Islands2
Monaco2
Japan1
South Korea1
Czech Republic1
Sweden1
Belarus1
Singapore1
Finland1
Norway1
Slovenia1
Estonia1
Montenegro1
Iceland1
Andorra1
San Marino1

Where does US rank in infant mortality rate?

The United States ranks 50th in infant mortality rate, which is higher than Japan and Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources