What is child mortality in Zambia?

Child mortality in Zambia was 4.84 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest child mortality recorded in Zambia?

The highest recorded value was 40.98 deaths per 100 live births in 1800.

What is the lowest child mortality recorded in Zambia?

The lowest recorded value was 4.84 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.

How does Zambia rank for child mortality?

Zambia ranks 32nd out of 203 countries with data for 2024.

Is child mortality rising or falling in Zambia?

Over the last ten years it is down 22.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Zambia data come from?

The figures come from Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Child mortality. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Child mortality in Zambia

Name: Child mortality in Zambia
Creator: Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Zambia: Child mortality was 4.84 deaths per 100 live births in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)

4.84 deaths per 100 live births

Change on year

down 1.6%

World rank

32nd

of 203 countries

All-time high

40.98 deaths per 100 live births

in 1800

All-time low

4.84 deaths per 100 live births

in 2024

Years of data

225

1800–2024

Child mortality in Zambia, 1800–2024

Source: Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100 live births.

Analysis

Zambia recorded 4.84 deaths per 100 live births for child mortality in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 225 years on record.

The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 22.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, child mortality in Zambia peaked at 40.98 deaths per 100 live births in 1800 and was at its lowest, 4.84 deaths per 100 live births, in 2024.

Zambia ranks 32nd of 203 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 225 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1800s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1810s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1820s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1830s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1840s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1850s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1860s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1870s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1880s	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1890s	40.97 deaths per 100 live births	40.92 deaths per 100 live births	40.98 deaths per 100 live births	10
1900s	40.65 deaths per 100 live births	40.34 deaths per 100 live births	40.89 deaths per 100 live births	10
1910s	39.82 deaths per 100 live births	39.39 deaths per 100 live births	40.25 deaths per 100 live births	10
1920s	38.86 deaths per 100 live births	38.43 deaths per 100 live births	39.3 deaths per 100 live births	10
1930s	37.25 deaths per 100 live births	36.17 deaths per 100 live births	38.33 deaths per 100 live births	10
1940s	32.48 deaths per 100 live births	26.17 deaths per 100 live births	35.94 deaths per 100 live births	10
1950s	22.77 deaths per 100 live births	20.9 deaths per 100 live births	24.69 deaths per 100 live births	10
1960s	19.28 deaths per 100 live births	18.39 deaths per 100 live births	20.5 deaths per 100 live births	10
1970s	16.22 deaths per 100 live births	15.35 deaths per 100 live births	18.02 deaths per 100 live births	10
1980s	16.54 deaths per 100 live births	15.49 deaths per 100 live births	17.94 deaths per 100 live births	10
1990s	17.23 deaths per 100 live births	15.81 deaths per 100 live births	18.09 deaths per 100 live births	10
2000s	11.11 deaths per 100 live births	7.84 deaths per 100 live births	15.18 deaths per 100 live births	10
2010s	6.25 deaths per 100 live births	5.35 deaths per 100 live births	7.43 deaths per 100 live births	10
2020s	5 deaths per 100 live births	4.84 deaths per 100 live births	5.25 deaths per 100 live births	5

Countries ranked near Zambia

29 Djibouti 4.89 deaths per 100 live births compare
30 Malawi 4.88 deaths per 100 live births compare
31 Uganda 4.87 deaths per 100 live births compare
33 East Timor 4.76 deaths per 100 live births compare
34 Burundi 4.71 deaths per 100 live births compare
35 Eswatini 4.51 deaths per 100 live births compare

See the full ranking of 203 places →

More health data for Zambia

Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 186,618 (2025)
Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 190,016 (2025)
Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 191,969 (2025)
Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 195,406 (2025)
Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 197,654 (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 201,065 (2025)

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is child mortality in Zambia?: Child mortality in Zambia was 4.84 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest child mortality recorded in Zambia?: The highest recorded value was 40.98 deaths per 100 live births in 1800.
What is the lowest child mortality recorded in Zambia?: The lowest recorded value was 4.84 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.
How does Zambia rank for child mortality?: Zambia ranks 32nd out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
Is child mortality rising or falling in Zambia?: Over the last ten years it is down 22.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zambia data come from?: The figures come from Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Child mortality. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 225 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Child mortality
Unit: deaths per 100 live births
Source: Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 203 places, 42,924 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

The estimated share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five.