What is the difference in mortality rate, infant between India and South Africa?

0.9 per 1,000 live births, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for India and South Africa?

49 years are reported by both, from 1976 to 2024.

Where does this data come from?

UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

India vs South Africa: Mortality rate, infant

India

23.3 per 1,000 live births

in 2024

South Africa

24.2 per 1,000 live births

in 2024

India rank

61st

South Africa rank

58th

Mortality rate, infant over time

India
South Africa

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 24.2 per 1,000 live births against 23.3 per 1,000 live births in India, a difference of 0.9 per 1,000 live births.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 49 shared years of data; in 1976 it was India ahead.

India ranks 61st and South Africa ranks 58th of 197 countries.

India has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	India	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1970s	116.28 per 1,000 live births	99.85 per 1,000 live births	16.43 per 1,000 live births	India
1980s	96.71 per 1,000 live births	68.76 per 1,000 live births	27.95 per 1,000 live births	India
1990s	76.4 per 1,000 live births	47.32 per 1,000 live births	29.08 per 1,000 live births	India
2000s	57.43 per 1,000 live births	45.52 per 1,000 live births	11.91 per 1,000 live births	India
2010s	37.59 per 1,000 live births	30.16 per 1,000 live births	7.43 per 1,000 live births	India
2020s	25.76 per 1,000 live births	24.32 per 1,000 live births	1.44 per 1,000 live births	India

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher mortality rate, infant, India or South Africa?: South Africa, at 24.2 per 1,000 live births against 23.3 per 1,000 live births in India as of 2024.
What is the difference in mortality rate, infant between India and South Africa?: 0.9 per 1,000 live births, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for India and South Africa?: 49 years are reported by both, from 1976 to 2024.
How do India and South Africa rank globally for mortality rate, infant?: India ranks 61st and South Africa ranks 58th of 197 countries.
Where does this data come from?: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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India vs South Africa: Mortality rate, infant. Statizoid, drawing on UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/mortality-rate-infant-per-1-000-live-births/india/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)
Unit: per 1,000 live births
Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 244 places, 13,515 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed: 03 September 2026

Infant mortality rate is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.