Notes

  • Topic: Health: Mortality
  • Definition: Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.
  • Source: Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org. Projected data are from the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects; and may in some cases not be consistent with data before the current year.
  • Statistical concept and methodology: The main sources of mortality data are vital registration systems and direct or indirect estimates based on sample surveys or censuses. A "complete" vital registration system - covering at least 90 percent of vital events in the population - is the best source of age-specific mortality data. Estimates of neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality tend to vary by source and method for a given time and place. Years for available estimates also vary by country, making comparisons across countries and over time difficult. To make neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality estimates comparable and to ensure consistency across estimates by different agencies, the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), which comprises the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the United Nations Population Division, and other universities and research institutes, developed and adopted a statistical method that uses all available information to reconcile differences. The method uses statistical models to obtain a best estimate trend line by fitting a country-specific regression model of mortality rates against their reference dates. Neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality rates capture the effect of gender discrimination better than neonatal and infant mortality rates do. Where female child mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.
  • Development relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries.
  • General comments: Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.
  • Limitations and exceptions: Complete vital registration systems are fairly uncommon in developing countries. Thus estimates must be obtained from sample surveys or derived by applying indirect estimation techniques to registration, census, or survey data. Survey data are subject to recall error, and surveys estimating infant/child deaths require large samples because households in which a birth has occurred during a given year cannot ordinarily be preselected for sampling. Indirect estimates rely on model life tables that may be inappropriate for the population concerned. Extrapolations based on outdated surveys may not be reliable for monitoring changes in health status or for comparative analytical work.

List of countries ordered by: Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000)

CountryMortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000)
1Angola156.90 /1,000
2Chad138.70 /1,000
3Somalia136.80 /1,000
4Central African Republic130.10 /1,000
5Sierra Leone120.40 /1,000
6Mali114.70 /1,000
7Nigeria108.80 /1,000
8Benin99.50 /1,000
9D.R. Congo98.30 /1,000
10Niger95.50 /1,000
11Equatorial Guinea94.10 /1,000
12Guinea93.70 /1,000
13Côte d'Ivoire92.60 /1,000
14South Sudan92.60 /1,000
15Guinea-Bissau92.50 /1,000
16Afghanistan91.10 /1,000
17Lesotho90.20 /1,000
18Burkina Faso88.60 /1,000
19Cameroon87.90 /1,000
20Mauritania84.70 /1,000
21Burundi81.70 /1,000
22Pakistan81.10 /1,000
23Mozambique78.50 /1,000
24Togo78.40 /1,000
25Comoros73.50 /1,000
26Least developed countries73.11 /1,000
27Zimbabwe70.70 /1,000
28Sudan70.10 /1,000
29Liberia69.90 /1,000
30Haiti69.00 /1,000
31Gambia68.90 /1,000
32Laos66.70 /1,000
33Djibouti65.30 /1,000
34Zambia64.00 /1,000
35Malawi64.00 /1,000
36Ghana61.60 /1,000
37Swaziland60.70 /1,000
38Ethiopia59.20 /1,000
39Papua New Guinea57.30 /1,000
40Kiribati55.90 /1,000
41Uganda54.60 /1,000
42Timor-Leste52.60 /1,000
43LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN52.60 /1,000
44Turkmenistan51.40 /1,000
45Gabon50.80 /1,000
46Myanmar50.00 /1,000
47Madagascar49.60 /1,000
48Kenya49.40 /1,000
49Tanzania48.70 /1,000
50India47.70 /1,000
51Sao Tome and Principe47.30 /1,000
52Senegal47.20 /1,000
53Eritrea46.50 /1,000
54Namibia45.40 /1,000
55Congo45.00 /1,000
56Tajikistan44.80 /1,000
57Botswana43.60 /1,000
58Yemen41.90 /1,000
59Rwanda41.70 /1,000
60South Africa40.50 /1,000
61Guyana39.40 /1,000
62Uzbekistan39.10 /1,000
63Bolivia38.40 /1,000
64Bangladesh37.60 /1,000
65Nepal35.80 /1,000
66Micronesia (Fed. States of)34.70 /1,000
67Bhutan32.90 /1,000
68Iraq32.00 /1,000
69Azerbaijan31.70 /1,000
70Dominican Republic30.90 /1,000
71Guatemala29.10 /1,000
72Cambodia28.70 /1,000
73Solomon Islands28.10 /1,000
74Philippines28.00 /1,000
75Morocco27.60 /1,000
76Vanuatu27.50 /1,000
77Indonesia27.20 /1,000
78Algeria25.50 /1,000
79Dem. People's Republic of Korea24.90 /1,000
80Cabo Verde24.50 /1,000
81Egypt24.00 /1,000
82Mongolia22.40 /1,000
83Fiji22.40 /1,000
84Nicaragua22.10 /1,000
85Viet Nam21.70 /1,000
86Ecuador21.60 /1,000
87Kyrgyzstan21.30 /1,000
88Suriname21.30 /1,000
89State of Palestine21.10 /1,000
90Paraguay20.50 /1,000
91Honduras20.40 /1,000
92Trinidad and Tobago20.40 /1,000
93Saint Vincent and the Grenadines18.30 /1,000
94Jordan17.90 /1,000
95Samoa17.50 /1,000
96Panama17.00 /1,000
97Peru16.90 /1,000
98El Salvador16.80 /1,000
99Tonga16.70 /1,000
100Belize16.50 /1,000
101Brazil16.40 /1,000
102Colombia15.90 /1,000
103Republic of Moldova15.80 /1,000
104Jamaica15.70 /1,000
105Iran15.50 /1,000
106Venezuela14.90 /1,000
107Saudi Arabia14.50 /1,000
108Saint Lucia14.30 /1,000
109Kazakhstan14.10 /1,000
110Armenia14.10 /1,000
111Albania14.00 /1,000
112Tunisia14.00 /1,000
113Seychelles13.60 /1,000
114Mauritius13.50 /1,000
115Turkey13.50 /1,000
116Libya13.40 /1,000
117Mexico13.20 /1,000
118Barbados13.00 /1,000
119Syrian Arab Republic12.90 /1,000
120Argentina12.50 /1,000
121Thailand12.30 /1,000
122Bahamas12.10 /1,000
123Georgia11.90 /1,000
124Grenada11.80 /1,000
125Oman11.60 /1,000
126Romania11.10 /1,000
127China10.70 /1,000
128Bulgaria10.40 /1,000
129Brunei Darussalam10.20 /1,000
130Uruguay10.10 /1,000
131Sri Lanka9.80 /1,000
132Costa Rica9.70 /1,000
133Russian Federation9.60 /1,000
134Ukraine9.00 /1,000
135Maldives8.60 /1,000
136Kuwait8.60 /1,000
137Lebanon8.30 /1,000
138Antigua and Barbuda8.10 /1,000
139Chile8.10 /1,000
140Qatar8.00 /1,000
141Latvia7.90 /1,000
142Slovakia7.30 /1,000
143Malaysia7.00 /1,000
144United Arab Emirates6.80 /1,000
145Serbia6.70 /1,000
146United States of America6.50 /1,000
147Malta6.40 /1,000
148Bahrain6.20 /1,000
149Hungary5.90 /1,000
150New Zealand5.70 /1,000
151Cuba5.50 /1,000
152TFYR Macedonia5.50 /1,000
153Bosnia and Herzegovina5.40 /1,000
154Lithuania5.20 /1,000
155Poland5.20 /1,000
156Canada4.90 /1,000
157Montenegro4.70 /1,000
158Belarus4.60 /1,000
159Greece4.60 /1,000
160Croatia4.30 /1,000
161France4.30 /1,000
162United Kingdom4.20 /1,000
163Belgium4.10 /1,000
164Spain4.10 /1,000
165Israel4.00 /1,000
166Switzerland3.90 /1,000
167Netherlands3.80 /1,000
168Australia3.80 /1,000
169Germany3.70 /1,000
170Ireland3.60 /1,000
171Portugal3.60 /1,000
172Monaco3.50 /1,000
173Austria3.50 /1,000
174Italy3.50 /1,000
175Denmark3.50 /1,000
176Czech Republic3.40 /1,000
177Republic of Korea3.40 /1,000
178Sweden3.00 /1,000
179Estonia2.90 /1,000
180Japan2.70 /1,000
181Cyprus2.70 /1,000
182Singapore2.70 /1,000
183Norway2.60 /1,000
184Slovenia2.60 /1,000
185Finland2.30 /1,000
186Iceland2.00 /1,000
187Luxembourg1.90 /1,000

Source: Health Nutrition and Population Statistics - World Bank - Downloaded in August 2017