Kenya vs Zambia: Infant mortality rate

Kenya
3.42 deaths per 100 live births
in 2024
Zambia
3.46 deaths per 100 live births
in 2024
Kenya rank
37th
Zambia rank
35th

Infant mortality rate over time

  • Kenya
  • Zambia
51015195219882024

How they compare

Zambia currently reports 3.46 deaths per 100 live births against 3.42 deaths per 100 live births in Kenya, a difference of 0.04 deaths per 100 live births.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 72 shared years of data; in 1953 it was Kenya ahead.

Kenya ranks 37th and Zambia ranks 35th of 199 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Kenya averaged higher in 3 and Zambia in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade Kenya Zambia Difference Ahead
1950s 13.83 deaths per 100 live births 10.47 deaths per 100 live births 3.36 deaths per 100 live births Kenya
1960s 9.86 deaths per 100 live births 9.58 deaths per 100 live births 0.2816 deaths per 100 live births Kenya
1970s 7.94 deaths per 100 live births 8.46 deaths per 100 live births 0.5161 deaths per 100 live births Zambia
1980s 6.49 deaths per 100 live births 9.14 deaths per 100 live births 2.66 deaths per 100 live births Zambia
1990s 6.93 deaths per 100 live births 9.87 deaths per 100 live births 2.94 deaths per 100 live births Zambia
2000s 5.18 deaths per 100 live births 6.64 deaths per 100 live births 1.46 deaths per 100 live births Zambia
2010s 3.94 deaths per 100 live births 4.25 deaths per 100 live births 0.3082 deaths per 100 live births Zambia
2020s 3.54 deaths per 100 live births 3.53 deaths per 100 live births 0.0097 deaths per 100 live births Kenya

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher infant mortality rate, Kenya or Zambia?
Zambia, at 3.46 deaths per 100 live births against 3.42 deaths per 100 live births in Kenya as of 2024.
What is the difference in infant mortality rate between Kenya and Zambia?
0.04 deaths per 100 live births, with Zambia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Kenya and Zambia?
72 years are reported by both, from 1953 to 2024.
How do Kenya and Zambia rank globally for infant mortality rate?
Kenya ranks 37th and Zambia ranks 35th of 199 countries.
Where does this data come from?
United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Infant mortality rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Infant mortality rate
Unit
deaths per 100 live births
Source
United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 13,185 data points, 1931–2024
Last refreshed

The estimated number of deaths of children aged under one year, per 100 live births .