Number of child deaths by region in India

India: Number of child deaths by region was 615,030 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
615,030
Change on year
down 5.4%
World rank
2nd
of 195 countries
All-time high
4.51 million
in 1972
All-time low
615,030
in 2024
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Number of child deaths by region in India, 1960–2024

1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M196019922024

Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, UN Population Division), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2024, number of child deaths by region in India stood at 615,030. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.

The figure is down 5.4% on the previous year and down 48.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of child deaths by region in India peaked at 4.51 million in 1972 and was at its lowest, 615,030, in 2024.

That places India 2nd out of 195 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 4.43 million 4.32 million 4.49 million 10
1970s 4.41 million 4.19 million 4.51 million 10
1980s 3.90 million 3.61 million 4.14 million 10
1990s 3.13 million 2.71 million 3.52 million 10
2000s 2.15 million 1.66 million 2.62 million 10
2010s 1.17 million 847,867 1.56 million 10
2020s 693,757 615,030 785,261 5

Countries ranked near India

  1. 1 Nigeria 855,676 compare
  2. 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 385,039 compare
  3. 4 Pakistan 381,586 compare
  4. 5 Ethiopia 181,228 compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of child deaths by region in India?
Number of child deaths by region in India was 615,030 in 2024, according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, UN Population Division), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of child deaths by region recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 4.51 million in 1972.
What is the lowest number of child deaths by region recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 615,030 in 2024.
How does India rank for number of child deaths by region?
India ranks 2nd out of 195 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of child deaths by region rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 48.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, UN Population Division), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of child deaths by region. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Number of child deaths by region
Source
UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, UN Population Division), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
195 places, 11,389 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

The estimated number of children under five years old who die each year.