Malawi vs South Africa: Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths
Malawi
15,906 deaths
in 2024
South Africa
14,715 deaths
in 2024
Malawi rank
32nd
South Africa rank
34th
Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths over time
- Malawi
- South Africa
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 15,906 deaths against 14,715 deaths in South Africa, a difference of 1,191 deaths.
That makes Malawi's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 48 shared years of data; in 1977 it was South Africa ahead.
Malawi ranks 32nd and South Africa ranks 34th of 199 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 17,871 deaths | 26,700 deaths | 8,830 deaths | South Africa |
| 1980s | 20,418 deaths | 27,196 deaths | 6,778 deaths | South Africa |
| 1990s | 21,782 deaths | 20,144 deaths | 1,637 deaths | Malawi |
| 2000s | 17,228 deaths | 14,364 deaths | 2,864 deaths | Malawi |
| 2010s | 14,988 deaths | 13,995 deaths | 993 deaths | Malawi |
| 2020s | 15,544 deaths | 14,211 deaths | 1,333 deaths | Malawi |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of neonatal, infant and child deaths, Malawi or South Africa?
- Malawi, at 15,906 deaths against 14,715 deaths in South Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in number of neonatal, infant and child deaths between Malawi and South Africa?
- 1,191 deaths, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and South Africa?
- 48 years are reported by both, from 1977 to 2024.
- How do Malawi and South Africa rank globally for number of neonatal, infant and child deaths?
- Malawi ranks 32nd and South Africa ranks 34th 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 Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths. 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 less than 28 days .