What is the difference in mortality rate, under-5 between Malawi and Zambia?

0.4 per 1,000 live births, with Malawi ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Zambia?

64 years are reported by both, from 1961 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, under-5 (per 1,000 live births). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Malawi vs Zambia: Mortality rate, under-5

Malawi

48.8 per 1,000 live births

in 2024

Zambia

48.4 per 1,000 live births

in 2024

Malawi rank

30th

Zambia rank

32nd

Mortality rate, under-5 over time

Malawi
Zambia

How they compare

Malawi currently reports 48.8 per 1,000 live births against 48.4 per 1,000 live births in Zambia, a difference of 0.4 per 1,000 live births.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 64 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Malawi ahead.

Malawi ranks 30th and Zambia ranks 32nd of 196 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 5 and Zambia in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Malawi	Zambia	Difference	Ahead
1960s	352.03 per 1,000 live births	191.47 per 1,000 live births	160.57 per 1,000 live births	Malawi
1970s	307 per 1,000 live births	162.19 per 1,000 live births	144.81 per 1,000 live births	Malawi
1980s	250.89 per 1,000 live births	165.4 per 1,000 live births	85.49 per 1,000 live births	Malawi
1990s	212.63 per 1,000 live births	172.32 per 1,000 live births	40.31 per 1,000 live births	Malawi
2000s	128.75 per 1,000 live births	111.09 per 1,000 live births	17.66 per 1,000 live births	Malawi
2010s	61.52 per 1,000 live births	62.46 per 1,000 live births	0.94 per 1,000 live births	Zambia
2020s	49.78 per 1,000 live births	49.98 per 1,000 live births	0.2 per 1,000 live births	Zambia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher mortality rate, under-5, Malawi or Zambia?: Malawi, at 48.8 per 1,000 live births against 48.4 per 1,000 live births in Zambia as of 2024.
What is the difference in mortality rate, under-5 between Malawi and Zambia?: 0.4 per 1,000 live births, with Malawi ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Zambia?: 64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
How do Malawi and Zambia rank globally for mortality rate, under-5?: Malawi ranks 30th and Zambia ranks 32nd of 196 countries.
Where does this data come from?: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Malawi vs Zambia: Mortality rate, under-5. Statizoid, drawing on UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/mortality-rate-under-5-per-1-000-live-births/malawi/zambia/

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About this data

Indicator: Mortality rate, under-5 (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: 243 places, 13,506 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.