Every eleven seconds, a young life is lost somewhere in the world, a heartbreaking statistic that underscores the urgent, preventable tragedy of the 4.9 million children under age five who died in 2022.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, 4.9 million children under age 5 died globally, equivalent to one child death every 11 seconds
- Globally, neonatal deaths accounted for 47% of all under-5 deaths in 2022, totaling about 2.3 million
- The global under-5 mortality rate dropped to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 from 93 in 1990
- Sub-Saharan Africa had 2.7 million under-5 deaths in 2022, 54% of global total
- In Nigeria, 777,000 children under 5 died in 2022, the highest nationally
- Democratic Republic of the Congo saw 678,000 under-5 deaths in 2022
- Pneumonia caused 672,000 under-5 deaths globally in 2021, 14% of total
- Diarrhoea killed 443,000 children under 5 worldwide in 2021, mainly from rotavirus
- Malaria resulted in 258,000 under-5 deaths in 2021, 96% in Africa
- Under-5 deaths from injuries total 630,000 globally in 2021, 11% of all
- Drowning is the leading cause of injury death in children 5-14, 178,000 globally under 15 annually
- Road traffic crashes killed 115,000 children under 15 worldwide in 2019
- Global under-5 mortality rate halved from 1990-2022, from 93 to 37 per 1,000
- Neonatal mortality declined 51% globally from 2000-2022, from 30 to 17 per 1,000
- Under-5 deaths globally fell 59% from 12.6 million in 1990 to 4.9 million in 2022
Too many young children still die, often from preventable causes in poorer nations.
Disease-related Deaths
- Pneumonia caused 672,000 under-5 deaths globally in 2021, 14% of total
- Diarrhoea killed 443,000 children under 5 worldwide in 2021, mainly from rotavirus
- Malaria resulted in 258,000 under-5 deaths in 2021, 96% in Africa
- Measles caused 128,000 under-5 deaths globally in 2021
- Neonatal sepsis/infections led to 460,000 deaths in 2022
- Preterm complications killed 920,000 neonates globally in 2022
- Birth asphyxia/hypoxia caused 630,000 neonatal deaths worldwide in 2022
- Congenital birth defects accounted for 290,000 neonatal deaths in 2022
- HIV caused 90,000 under-5 deaths globally in 2022
- Pertussis (whooping cough) killed 151,000 children under 5 in 2018, latest detailed
- Tetanus caused 34,000 neonatal deaths globally in 2021
- Rotavirus diarrhoea led to 151,714 under-5 deaths in 2019
- Shigella dysentery caused 63,000 under-5 deaths in 2019
- Cryptosporidium parasite killed 48,000 under-5 children in 2019
- Influenza and RSV caused 28,000 under-5 deaths from lower respiratory infections beyond pneumonia in 2021
- Meningitis killed 69,000 under-5 children globally in 2021
- Typhoid fever resulted in 58,000 under-5 deaths worldwide in 2019
- Japanese encephalitis caused 13,600 child deaths under 15 in 2019
- Yellow fever led to 30,000 deaths, many children, in endemic areas 2019
- Leishmaniasis visceral form killed 18,000 children under 15 annually
- Cholera caused 94,000 deaths globally, with significant child proportion under 5
Disease-related Deaths Interpretation
Behind the cold calculus of these numbers lies a grim truth: our world still treats the deaths of millions of children from preventable and treatable illnesses as a tragic but acceptable arithmetic.
Global Statistics
- In 2022, 4.9 million children under age 5 died globally, equivalent to one child death every 11 seconds
- Globally, neonatal deaths accounted for 47% of all under-5 deaths in 2022, totaling about 2.3 million
- The global under-5 mortality rate dropped to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 from 93 in 1990
- In 2022, 2.6 million newborns died within the first 28 days of life worldwide
- Globally, 14% of under-5 deaths in 2021 were due to pneumonia, causing around 700,000 deaths
- Diarrhoeal diseases caused 8% of under-5 deaths globally in 2021, approximately 400,000 deaths
- Malaria led to 5% of under-5 deaths worldwide in 2021, killing about 250,000 children
- Preterm birth complications were responsible for 35% of neonatal deaths globally in 2022
- Intrapartum-related events (birth asphyxia) caused 24% of neonatal deaths worldwide
- Infections/sepsis accounted for 20% of global neonatal deaths in 2022
- Congenital anomalies caused 11% of neonatal deaths globally
- Globally, 99% of under-5 deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries
- Boys under 5 have a slightly higher mortality rate than girls globally, at 39 vs 36 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- In 2020, COVID-19 directly caused over 11,000 child deaths globally under age 5
- Undernutrition contributes to 45% of all deaths in children under 5 worldwide
- Globally, 2.4 million children died from preventable infectious diseases in 2021
- Measles caused 128,000 under-5 deaths globally in 2021
- HIV/AIDS led to 90,000 under-5 deaths worldwide in 2022
- Globally, 800 women die daily from preventable pregnancy/childbirth causes, impacting neonatal survival
- In 2022, 1.9 million children under 5 were stillborn globally, closely linked to child mortality
- Global neonatal mortality rate is 17 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Post-neonatal under-5 deaths total 2.6 million globally in 2022
- 50% of under-5 deaths occur in just 10 countries globally
- Globally, vaccine-preventable diseases kill 1.5 million children under 5 annually
- In 2021, 160,000 children died from rotavirus diarrhoea globally
- Global under-5 mortality from injuries is 9%, or about 450,000 deaths in 2021
- Drowning causes 236,000 child deaths under 15 globally each year
- Road traffic injuries kill 115,000 children annually worldwide under 15
- Burns result in 120,000 child deaths under 15 globally per year
Global Statistics Interpretation
Despite the profound progress since 1990, the persistent, predictable, and preventable slaughter of the world's youngest citizens—largely by infections and complications of poverty—remains a damning indictment of global inequality, happening at a rate of one tiny coffin every eleven seconds.
Injury and Accident Deaths
- Under-5 deaths from injuries total 630,000 globally in 2021, 11% of all
- Drowning is the leading cause of injury death in children 5-14, 178,000 globally under 15 annually
- Road traffic crashes killed 115,000 children under 15 worldwide in 2019
- Burns and fire-related injuries cause 120,000 child deaths under 15 per year globally
- Falls result in 47,000 child deaths under 15 annually worldwide
- Poisonings lead to 45,000 child deaths under 15 globally each year
- Violence/homicide causes 41,000 child deaths under 15 worldwide annually
- In the US, firearm injuries killed 2,590 children under 18 in 2021
- Suffocation is the leading cause of injury death in US infants under 1, 1,200 deaths in 2021
- Motor vehicle crashes killed 692 US children aged 0-12 in 2021
- Drowning deaths in US children under 5: 368 in 2021
- In low-income countries, 90% of child injury deaths occur, mainly drowning and burns
- Global child road deaths: 54% pedestrians, 27,000 annually under 15
- Animal bites cause 59,000 rabies deaths in children under 15 yearly
- In India, 50,000 child burn deaths annually
- US child poisoning deaths: 1,106 under 20 from drugs in 2021
- Global suicide in children 10-14: 46,000 deaths annually
- Homicide by sharp objects: 20,000 child deaths under 15 globally
- In Africa, road deaths in children highest per capita, 20.3 per 100,000 under 15
Injury and Accident Deaths Interpretation
Behind every staggering statistic on child injury deaths lies a preventable tragedy, revealing a world where the leading causes of young life lost—from drowning to traffic to a pot left on the stove—are often failures of our collective attention and safeguards rather than acts of fate.
Regional Statistics
- Sub-Saharan Africa had 2.7 million under-5 deaths in 2022, 54% of global total
- In Nigeria, 777,000 children under 5 died in 2022, the highest nationally
- Democratic Republic of the Congo saw 678,000 under-5 deaths in 2022
- Ethiopia recorded 234,000 under-5 child deaths in 2022
- India had 685,000 under-5 deaths in 2022, down from previous years
- Pakistan experienced 248,000 under-5 child deaths in 2022
- South Asia's under-5 mortality rate was 42 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Sub-Saharan Africa's under-5 mortality rate is 74 per 1,000 live births in 2022, highest regionally
- Central Europe had only 4 under-5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- In the United States, 20,933 children under 18 died in 2021
- Brazil saw 121,000 under-5 deaths in 2022
- Afghanistan's under-5 mortality rate is 118 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Somalia has the highest under-5 mortality rate at 113 per 1,000 in 2022
- In Latin America and Caribbean, 110,000 under-5 deaths occurred in 2022
- Middle East and North Africa had 27 under-5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- East Asia and Pacific region's under-5 mortality rate is 14 per 1,000 in 2022
- In South Africa, 36,000 under-5 deaths in 2022
- Chad's under-5 mortality rate is 109 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- In Europe, under-5 mortality is 5 per 1,000 live births, with 15,000 deaths in 2022
- Central Asia had 35,000 under-5 deaths in 2022
- In Nigeria's northern regions, under-5 mortality exceeds 150 per 1,000 live births
- Australia's under-5 mortality rate is 4 per 1,000 live births, with 100 deaths in 2022
- In Yemen, 52,000 under-5 deaths due to conflict in 2022
- Eastern Europe under-5 mortality rate 8 per 1,000 in 2022
Regional Statistics Interpretation
Geography should not be a death sentence for a child, yet a map shaded by these numbers reads like a grim lottery where the winning ticket is simply being born somewhere else.
Trends and Projections
- Global under-5 mortality rate halved from 1990-2022, from 93 to 37 per 1,000
- Neonatal mortality declined 51% globally from 2000-2022, from 30 to 17 per 1,000
- Under-5 deaths globally fell 59% from 12.6 million in 1990 to 4.9 million in 2022
- Sub-Saharan Africa saw 62% decline in under-5 mortality 1990-2022, yet still highest
- South Asia's under-5 rate dropped 72% from 1990-2022, from 151 to 42 per 1,000
- Global pneumonia deaths in under-5 fell 62% from 2000-2021
- Diarrhoea under-5 deaths declined 60% globally 2000-2021
- Malaria child deaths dropped 58% in Africa 2000-2021
- Measles deaths fell 84% globally 2000-2021 due to vaccines
- Projections: Under-5 deaths to reach 4.8 million by 2025 if trends continue
- To meet SDG, under-5 mortality must drop 8% annually, current 2.5%
- US child mortality rate increased 8.4% from 2019-2021 to 28.9 per 100,000 under 19
- Global neonatal deaths projected to be 2.4 million in 2030 without acceleration
- Vaccine coverage rise prevented 154 million child deaths 1974-2024
- Under-5 stunting declined 14% globally 2000-2022, reducing mortality risk
- In India, under-5 deaths fell 70% from 2.3M in 1990 to 685k in 2022
- Nigeria's under-5 rate declined 54% 1990-2022, from 226 to 104 per 1,000
- Child injury deaths globally decreased 10% 2000-2019
- Drowning rates in children declined 38% in high-income countries 1990-2020
- Firearm deaths in US children rose 29.5% 2019-2020
- Global HIV child infections fell 62% 2010-2022, reducing deaths
- Preterm birth survival improved 20% in facilities 2000-2020 globally
Trends and Projections Interpretation
While the remarkable global progress in reducing child mortality is a testament to human effort and innovation, the stubborn persistence of these deaths reveals the unfinished work of building a world where every child's survival is a certainty, not a statistical gamble.