Behind the promising global decline in infant mortality lies a staggering and preventable truth: an estimated 2.3 million infants still died worldwide in their first year of life in 2023.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the global under-five mortality rate stood at 37 deaths per 1,000 live births, with infant mortality accounting for approximately 70% of these deaths
- The World Health Organization reports that in 2023, an estimated 2.3 million infants died within their first year of life worldwide
- Globally, the infant mortality rate declined from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 28 in 2022, representing a 70% reduction
- In the United States, the infant mortality rate in 2022 was 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 5.4 in 2021
- For 2021, US neonatal mortality rate was 3.6 per 1,000 live births, accounting for 64% of infant deaths
- Black infants in the US had an infant mortality rate of 10.9 per 1,000 in 2022, 2.4 times higher than White infants at 4.5
- Nigeria's infant mortality rate was 72.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- India's infant mortality rate reached 25.5 per 1,000 in 2022, down from 56 in 2000
- In Pakistan, infant mortality was 55.7 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of infant death globally, responsible for 1 million deaths annually
- Congenital anomalies cause about 20% of infant deaths in high-income countries
- Asphyxia and birth trauma account for 24% of neonatal deaths worldwide
- Maternal obesity increases infant death risk by 20% from complications
- Low maternal education correlates with 50% higher infant mortality odds
- Poverty raises infant mortality risk by 4-fold in low-income settings
Global infant mortality rates show significant progress but remain tragically high and uneven worldwide.
Causes of Death
- Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of infant death globally, responsible for 1 million deaths annually
- Congenital anomalies cause about 20% of infant deaths in high-income countries
- Asphyxia and birth trauma account for 24% of neonatal deaths worldwide
- Infections/sepsis contribute to 25% of neonatal infant deaths globally
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) causes 5-10% of postneonatal deaths in developed nations
- Pneumonia leads to 15% of under-one deaths in low-income countries
- Diarrhoea causes 9% of infant deaths, mostly preventable with ORS
- Malaria kills over 200,000 infants under one yearly in Africa
- Respiratory distress syndrome from prematurity causes 10% of neonatal deaths
- Intrauterine growth restriction leads to 20% of stillbirths and many infant deaths
- Bacterial meningitis causes 5% of neonatal sepsis deaths
- Congenital heart defects account for 25% of congenital anomaly infant deaths
- Necrotizing enterocolitis kills 10-20% of preterm infants affected
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy from birth asphyxia causes 15% neonatal deaths
- Tetanus neonatorum, though reduced, still kills thousands yearly
- In US, disorders related to short gestation/low birthweight cause 35% infant deaths
- Unintentional suffocation in bed is leading cause of SUID at 70% of cases
- Omphalitis (umbilical infection) causes 7% neonatal deaths in South Asia
- Jaundice/kernicterus leads to 4% neonatal deaths globally
- HIV mother-to-child transmission causes 90,000 infant deaths yearly
- Measles kills 50,000 infants under one annually despite vaccines
- Pertussis (whooping cough) causes 160,000 infant deaths yearly
- In preterm infants, intraventricular hemorrhage causes 15% deaths
- Sepsis from group B strep infects 1 in 500 US newborns, mortality 5-10%
- Patent ductus arteriosus complications in preterms lead to 5% deaths
- Low birthweight babies have 10x higher mortality risk from infections
- Maternal haemorrhage indirectly causes 20% neonatal deaths via poor care
- Retinopathy of prematurity blinds and kills some preterms indirectly
- Inadequate immunization leads to 2% of infant deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases
- Twins have 5x higher risk of death from prematurity-related causes
Causes of Death Interpretation
This haunting parade of numbers whispers a single, brutal truth: that the gravest danger facing a newborn is simply the accident of where and into what circumstances they are born.
Global Statistics
- In 2022, the global under-five mortality rate stood at 37 deaths per 1,000 live births, with infant mortality accounting for approximately 70% of these deaths
- The World Health Organization reports that in 2023, an estimated 2.3 million infants died within their first year of life worldwide
- Globally, the infant mortality rate declined from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 28 in 2022, representing a 70% reduction
- In 2021, neonatal deaths accounted for 47% of all under-five deaths globally, totaling about 1.9 million infant deaths in the first 28 days
- The Sustainable Development Goal target for infant mortality is fewer than 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030, but 2022 global rate was 27
- Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest global infant mortality rate in 2022 at 71 deaths per 1,000 live births
- Globally, preterm birth complications caused 18% of infant deaths in 2022, equating to over 600,000 deaths
- In 2020, COVID-19 indirectly contributed to a 3.4 million excess infant deaths globally due to disrupted healthcare
- The global neonatal mortality rate in 2022 was 17 deaths per 1,000 live births
- From 2000 to 2022, global infant mortality fell by 59%, from 69 to 28 per 1,000 live births
- In low-income countries, infant mortality was 62 per 1,000 in 2022 versus 4 in high-income countries
- Globally, 2.4 million newborns died in 2022, mostly from preventable causes like infections
- Infant mortality rate globally projected to reach 25 per 1,000 by 2030 if trends continue
- In 2022, South Asia's infant mortality rate was 41 per 1,000 live births, second highest region
- Global progress stalled post-2015, with infant mortality reduction slowing to 2.2% annually from 3.7%
- Pneumonia caused 14% of global infant deaths in 2022, about 400,000 cases
- Diarrhoeal diseases led to 8% of infant deaths globally in 2022, totaling roughly 280,000
- Malaria accounted for 5% of infant mortality in endemic areas globally in 2022
- Globally, 99% of neonatal deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries
- In 2022, birth asphyxia and trauma caused 24% of neonatal deaths worldwide
- Global infant mortality gap between richest and poorest quintiles is 10-fold
- In 2023 estimates, 4.4 million babies died in their first month globally over the year
- Sepsis and infections cause 25% of global neonatal deaths annually
- Congenital anomalies represent 11% of infant deaths globally in recent data
- Globally, exclusive breastfeeding could prevent 13% of infant deaths under 6 months
- In 2022, 2 million infants died from pneumonia globally
- Global average infant mortality rate for boys was 29 per 1,000 vs 26 for girls in 2022
- HIV/AIDS caused less than 1% of global infant deaths in 2022 due to prevention efforts
- Road injuries contribute minimally to infant mortality globally at under 1%
- Drowning accounts for 5% of under-five deaths but less for infants specifically globally
Global Statistics Interpretation
The grimly cheerful news is that we've become remarkably better at not letting babies die, cutting the global infant mortality rate by 70% since 1990, yet our lingering failures are so predictably cruel that in 2022 a child born in Sub-Saharan Africa was eighteen times more likely to die before its first birthday than one born in a rich country, mostly from causes we've known how to prevent for decades.
Regional Variations
- Nigeria's infant mortality rate was 72.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- India's infant mortality rate reached 25.5 per 1,000 in 2022, down from 56 in 2000
- In Pakistan, infant mortality was 55.7 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Afghanistan reported 104.6 infant deaths per 1,000 in 2022, highest in Central Asia
- Brazil's rate was 12.4 per 1,000 in 2022
- Ethiopia's infant mortality stood at 43.5 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- DR Congo had 62.7 infant deaths per 1,000 in 2022
- Japan's rate was remarkably low at 1.9 per 1,000 in 2022
- South Africa's infant mortality was 25.9 per 1,000 in 2022
- Russia's rate was 5.3 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- In Angola, infant mortality reached 78.2 per 1,000 in 2022
- China's progress brought rate to 5.4 per 1,000 in 2022
- Somalia's estimated rate was 78.5 per 1,000 in 2022
- Mexico reported 11.8 infant deaths per 1,000 in 2022
- Chad's rate was 94.7 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Finland had one of Europe's lowest at 1.9 per 1,000 in 2022
- Mali's infant mortality was 82.4 per 1,000 in 2022
- Indonesia's rate declined to 20.8 per 1,000 in 2022
- Central African Republic had 84.2 deaths per 1,000 infants in 2022
- Norway's rate was 1.8 per 1,000 in 2022
- Nigeria's northern regions had rates over 100 per 1,000 vs 50 in south in 2022
- In sub-Saharan Africa, rural infant mortality was 82 per 1,000 vs urban 53 in 2022
- Sweden's infant mortality rate was 2.1 per 1,000 in 2022
- Bangladesh reduced to 24.6 per 1,000 in 2022 from 87 in 2000
- Guinea-Bissau's rate was 92.5 per 1,000 in 2022
- South Korea achieved 2.4 per 1,000 in 2022
- Sierra Leone reported 72.1 infant deaths per 1,000 in 2022
- In Latin America, average infant mortality was 15 per 1,000 in 2022
- Mozambique's rate was 59.8 per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Iceland had the lowest global rate at 1.5 per 1,000 in 2022
Regional Variations Interpretation
The statistics present a world of heartbreaking contrast, where a child's first breath in Iceland is met with near-certain survival, while in Chad it is a desperate gamble against staggering odds.
Risk Factors
- Maternal obesity increases infant death risk by 20% from complications
- Low maternal education correlates with 50% higher infant mortality odds
- Poverty raises infant mortality risk by 4-fold in low-income settings
- Teenage motherhood (<18) triples infant mortality risk globally
- No antenatal care increases neonatal death risk by 50%
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy doubles SIDS risk
- Low birthweight (<2500g) has 20x higher mortality than normal weight
- Multiple births increase infant death risk 5-7 times
- Rural residence elevates infant mortality by 30% vs urban
- Male infants have 10% higher mortality than females globally
- Maternal hypertension doubles preterm birth risk, leading to higher deaths
- Short birth spacing (<18 months) raises risk by 60%
- Drug use in pregnancy increases infant mortality by 3x in US
- Malnutrition in mothers causes 45% of child deaths indirectly
- HIV-positive mothers without ART have 20-30% transmission rate to infants
- Air pollution exposure increases infant pneumonia mortality by 20%
- Bed-sharing without safe practices triples SIDS risk
- Maternal diabetes raises congenital anomaly risk by 3-4x
- Unclean home delivery increases infection risk 10-fold
- Father's low education also correlates with 30% higher infant death risk
- Climate extremes like heatwaves raise infant mortality 15% in vulnerable areas
Risk Factors Interpretation
A baby’s chance at life should not be a gamble stacked by its mother's obesity, her lack of education or a doctor, her poverty, her youth, her cigarettes, her untreated illnesses, her empty pantry, her polluted air, or a society that leaves her unsupported in every possible way.
US National Statistics
- In the United States, the infant mortality rate in 2022 was 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 5.4 in 2021
- For 2021, US neonatal mortality rate was 3.6 per 1,000 live births, accounting for 64% of infant deaths
- Black infants in the US had an infant mortality rate of 10.9 per 1,000 in 2022, 2.4 times higher than White infants at 4.5
- Preterm birth-related causes accounted for 16.6% of US infant deaths in 2021
- Congenital malformations caused 19.5% of infant deaths in the US in 2022
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rate in US was 0.35 per 1,000 live births in 2021
- US infant mortality rate for Native Americans was 9.1 per 1,000 in 2022
- Maternal age under 20 correlated with US infant mortality rate of 8.2 per 1,000 in 2021 data
- In 2022, US postneonatal mortality was 2.0 per 1,000 live births
- Hispanic US infants had infant mortality of 4.9 per 1,000 in 2022
- Accidents or unintentional injuries caused 4.7% of US infant deaths in 2021
- US infant mortality declined from 7.2 in 2000 to 5.6 in 2022, a 22% drop
- Bacterial sepsis caused 2.3% of US infant deaths in 2022
- In 2021, US infants of mothers without prenatal care had mortality rate 3 times higher
- Low birthweight (<2500g) associated with 66% of US infant deaths in 2022
- US infant mortality rate in non-metropolitan areas was 6.2 per 1,000 in 2021, higher than metro 5.4
- Respiratory distress syndrome caused 4.8% of US neonatal deaths in 2022
- In 2022, US infant mortality for Asian/Pacific Islanders was lowest at 3.5 per 1,000
- Maternal smoking linked to 13% higher US infant mortality risk in 2021 data
- US states with highest infant mortality in 2022: Mississippi 9.4, Louisiana 8.3 per 1,000
- Drug-related perinatal conditions caused 1.5% of US infant deaths in 2021
- US preterm birth rate of 10.4% in 2022 contributed to 35% of infant deaths
- Inadequate prenatal care associated with 25% higher US infant mortality in 2022
- US infant mortality due to influenza and pneumonia was 0.4% in 2021
- Twins in US had infant mortality rate of 26.3 per 1,000 in 2022 vs 4.8 for singletons
- In 2022, California reported 4.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births
- Homicide caused 0.8% of US postneonatal deaths in 2021
US National Statistics Interpretation
While we should celebrate that the overall infant mortality rate has dropped nearly a quarter since 2000, the persistently grim and disproportionate statistics for Black, Native American, and preterm infants, along with those born to young or under-supported mothers, reveal a nation still nursing a preventable crisis in its most vulnerable citizens.
Sources & References
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