Which Countries Have the Highest Infant Mortality Rates?

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21 mins ago

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May 9, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Which Countries Have the Highest Infant Mortality Rates?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

We visualized the top 15 countries with the highest infant mortality rates, according to 2023 estimates from the CIA World Factbook. It is measured as the number of infant deaths under the age of one, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

ℹ️ Comoros has been excluded from the map for visibility reasons.

Infant mortality rates are generally regarded as the barometer of an overall population’s health. A higher rate indicates unmet needs of a population, especially with regards to food availability and sanitation.

Ranked: Countries With the Highest Infant Mortality Rates

Afghanistan currently has the highest infant mortality rate in the world at 103 deaths per 1,000 babies born. Decades of conflict have pushed the country to the brink and a prolonged drought since 2021 has made food more scarce.

RankCountryRegionInfant Mortality Rate (2023) 1🇦🇫 AfghanistanAsia103.1 2🇸🇴 SomaliaAfrica85.1 3🇨🇫 Central African RepublicAfrica81.7 4🇬🇶 Equatorial GuineaAfrica77.9 5🇸🇱 Sierra LeoneAfrica72.3 6🇳🇪 NigerAfrica65.5 7🇹🇩 ChadAfrica64.0 8🇸🇸 South SudanAfrica61.6 9🇲🇿 MozambiqueAfrica59.8 10🇨🇩 DRCAfrica59.1 11🇲🇱 MaliAfrica59.0 12🇦🇴 AngolaAfrica57.2 13🇱🇷 LiberiaAfrica56.1 14🇰🇲 ComorosAfrica56.0 15🇳🇬 NigeriaAfrica55.2 N/A🌐 WorldWorld28.0

Meanwhile, the other 14 countries on this list are all from Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of them are also experiencing civil unrest, a breakdown of state machinery, and high undernourishment rates.

While this is concerning, Africa’s infant mortality rate as a whole has improved tremendously in the last seven decades. Between 1950–2024, the continent’s average fell 73% to 41 deaths per 1,000 births.

Expansion of healthcare, improving nutrition, access to clean drinking water, and mass immunization programs are some of the reasons behind this massive decline.

Estimates assume Africa’s infant mortality rate will improve further to 25 per 1,000 live births by 2050—which is roughly the same as Asia today.

What Causes Preventable Child Deaths?

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15 seconds ago

on

May 5, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

What Causes Preventable Child Deaths?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

One of the often-overlooked successes of the modern era is the light-speed innovation in healthcare, easily seen in improvements in life expectancy.

The drop in infant mortality is another example. In 1990, more than 12 million preventable child deaths occurred. Three decades later, that number has more than halved. Nevertheless, despite gains, there are still challenges left to overcome.

We visualize leading causes of death in 2022 for children under the age of five according to a UNICEF report, published March 2024.

Ranked: The Causes of Death for Children Under Five

Globally, 4.9 million children under the age of five died in 2022.

RankCause% of Global Under-Five
Deaths in 2022 1Prematurity18% 2Pneumonia14% 3Birth Asphyxia12% 4Malaria9% 5Diarrhea9% 6Congenital Anomalies8% 7Injuries5% 8Sepsis3% 9Tuberculosis3% N/AOther19%
Figures are rounded.
Nearly one-in-five of all deaths occurred because the baby was born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy were completed.

However there’s a huge caveat to this particular cause of death.

In low income countries, where health infrastructure is suboptimal, half of the babies born two months early do not survive. For the same preterm babies in high income countries, nearly all survive. This indicates how much neonatal support (access to warmth, breastfeeding, and basic infections care) can reduce infant mortality.

Pneumonia is another significant cause of under-five deaths. It’s an acute respiratory infection, and is extremely contagious: through air, fluids, and contaminated surfaces. Exposure to air pollution significantly increases the risk of developing pneumonia.

However, pneumonia caused by bacteria is also extremely treatable through low-cost antibiotics, and preventable through the pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine.

Put together, preterm births and pneumonia cause nearly one-in-three preventable child deaths.