What is the difference in youth mortality rate between Rwanda and South Africa?

0.16 deaths per 100 live births, with Rwanda ahead.

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

38 years are reported by both, from 1987 to 2024.

Where does this data come from?

United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Youth mortality rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Rwanda vs South Africa: Youth mortality rate

Rwanda

4.18 deaths per 100 live births

in 2024

South Africa

4.02 deaths per 100 live births

in 2024

Rwanda rank

50th

South Africa rank

53rd

Youth mortality rate over time

Rwanda
South Africa

How they compare

Rwanda currently reports 4.18 deaths per 100 live births against 4.02 deaths per 100 live births in South Africa, a difference of 0.16 deaths per 100 live births.

Across all 38 years both countries report, Rwanda has been ahead every year.

Rwanda ranks 50th and South Africa ranks 53rd of 199 countries.

Rwanda has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Rwanda	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1980s	20.14 deaths per 100 live births	7.15 deaths per 100 live births	13 deaths per 100 live births	Rwanda
1990s	29.04 deaths per 100 live births	6.83 deaths per 100 live births	22.22 deaths per 100 live births	Rwanda
2000s	14.82 deaths per 100 live births	8.42 deaths per 100 live births	6.4 deaths per 100 live births	Rwanda
2010s	6.23 deaths per 100 live births	4.76 deaths per 100 live births	1.47 deaths per 100 live births	Rwanda
2020s	4.54 deaths per 100 live births	3.98 deaths per 100 live births	0.5607 deaths per 100 live births	Rwanda

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher youth mortality rate, Rwanda or South Africa?: Rwanda, at 4.18 deaths per 100 live births against 4.02 deaths per 100 live births in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in youth mortality rate between Rwanda and South Africa?: 0.16 deaths per 100 live births, with Rwanda ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Rwanda and South Africa?: 38 years are reported by both, from 1987 to 2024.
How do Rwanda and South Africa rank globally for youth mortality rate?: Rwanda ranks 50th and South Africa ranks 53rd 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 Youth mortality rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Rwanda vs South Africa: Youth mortality rate. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/youth-mortality-rate/rwanda/south-africa/

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<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/youth-mortality-rate/rwanda/south-africa/">Rwanda vs South Africa: Youth mortality rate</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Youth 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, 9,824 data points, 1950–2024
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Estimated number of deaths of children aged under fifteen years, per 100 live births.