South Africa vs United States of America: Number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio

South Africa
251,724 one-year-olds
in 2023
United States of America
260,243 one-year-olds
in 2023
South Africa rank
21st
United States of America rank
19th

Number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio over time

  • South Africa
  • United States of America
0250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M198020012023

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 260,243 one-year-olds against 251,724 one-year-olds in South Africa, a difference of 8,519 one-year-olds.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 41 shared years of data; in 1983 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 21st and United States of America ranks 19th of 194 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 1 and United States of America in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa United States of America Difference Ahead
1980s 286,244 one-year-olds 150,998 one-year-olds 135,246 one-year-olds South Africa
1990s 270,599 one-year-olds 597,728 one-year-olds 327,129 one-year-olds United States of America
2000s 264,523 one-year-olds 329,928 one-year-olds 65,405 one-year-olds United States of America
2010s 230,192 one-year-olds 273,985 one-year-olds 43,794 one-year-olds United States of America
2020s 195,522 one-year-olds 269,664 one-year-olds 74,143 one-year-olds United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio, South Africa or United States of America?
United States of America, at 260,243 one-year-olds against 251,724 one-year-olds in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio between South Africa and United States of America?
8,519 one-year-olds, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United States of America?
41 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2023.
How do South Africa and United States of America rank globally for number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio?
South Africa ranks 21st and United States of America ranks 19th of 194 countries.
Where does this data come from?
WHO & UNICEF (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs United States of America: Number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio. Statizoid, drawing on WHO & UNICEF (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/polio-number-unvaccinated/south-africa/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of one-year-olds who are not vaccinated against polio
Unit
one-year-olds
Source
WHO & UNICEF (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 7,911 data points, 1980–2023
Last refreshed

Number of one-year-olds who have not had the third dose of either the oral or inactivated polio vaccine in a given year.