Under-5 mortality by country

Understanding the measure

Under-5 mortality measures how many children die before their fifth birthday for every 1,000 live births. It is one of the most sensitive indicators of a country's overall development, reflecting the quality of healthcare, nutrition, sanitation and maternal health services. The estimates are produced by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank and the UN Population Division) from birth and death records, censuses and household surveys.

Global under-5 mortality has fallen dramatically, from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 37 in 2023, according to the UN estimates, one of the great public health achievements of the modern era. Oral rehydration therapy for diarrhea, wider vaccination coverage, insecticide-treated bed nets against malaria and better maternal care drove the decline. Progress has been uneven: in 2023, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for more than half of all deaths of children under five.

Reducing child mortality takes simultaneous progress on clean water, vaccination, nutrition, mothers' education and healthcare. The highest rates are concentrated in countries affected by conflict or with collapsed health systems, where several of these fail at once.