China vs South Africa: Number of child deaths by age
China
17,855 deaths
in 2024
South Africa
12,865 deaths
in 2024
China rank
20th
South Africa rank
23rd
Number of child deaths by age over time
- China
- South Africa
How they compare
China currently reports 17,855 deaths against 12,865 deaths in South Africa, a difference of 4,990 deaths.
That makes China's figure about 1.4 times South Africa's.
Across all 44 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 20th and South Africa ranks 23rd of 199 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 258,831 deaths | 6,736 deaths | 252,095 deaths | China |
| 1990s | 205,422 deaths | 14,874 deaths | 190,548 deaths | China |
| 2000s | 83,409 deaths | 29,309 deaths | 54,099 deaths | China |
| 2010s | 47,082 deaths | 11,571 deaths | 35,512 deaths | China |
| 2020s | 25,537 deaths | 11,808 deaths | 13,729 deaths | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of child deaths by age, China or South Africa?
- China, at 17,855 deaths against 12,865 deaths in South Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in number of child deaths by age between China and South Africa?
- 4,990 deaths, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and South Africa?
- 44 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2024.
- How do China and South Africa rank globally for number of child deaths by age?
- China ranks 20th and South Africa ranks 23rd of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) β processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of child deaths by age. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of deaths of children aged between 1 and 4 .