Child mortality rate by household wealth in South Africa
South Africa: Child mortality rate by household wealth was 3.52 deaths per 100 live births in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
3.52 deaths per 100 live births
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
52nd
of 106 countries
All-time high
8.34 deaths per 100 live births
in 2004
All-time low
3.39 deaths per 100 live births
in 2020
Years of data
35
1990–2024
Child mortality rate by household wealth in South Africa, 1990–2024
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100 live births.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3.52 deaths per 100 live births for child mortality rate by household wealth in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 11.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, child mortality rate by household wealth in South Africa peaked at 8.34 deaths per 100 live births in 2004 and was at its lowest, 3.39 deaths per 100 live births, in 2020.
South Africa ranks 52nd of 106 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Child mortality rate by household wealth in South Africa, year by year
| Year | deaths per 100 live births | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5.91 deaths per 100 live births | — |
| 1991 | 5.77 deaths per 100 live births | -2.4% |
| 1992 | 5.7 deaths per 100 live births | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 5.74 deaths per 100 live births | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 5.86 deaths per 100 live births | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 6.01 deaths per 100 live births | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 6.19 deaths per 100 live births | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 6.41 deaths per 100 live births | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 6.72 deaths per 100 live births | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 7.03 deaths per 100 live births | +4.7% |
| 2000 | 7.32 deaths per 100 live births | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 7.67 deaths per 100 live births | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 7.93 deaths per 100 live births | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 8.17 deaths per 100 live births | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 8.34 deaths per 100 live births | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 8.24 deaths per 100 live births | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 7.93 deaths per 100 live births | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 7.32 deaths per 100 live births | -7.7% |
| 2008 | 6.53 deaths per 100 live births | -10.9% |
| 2009 | 5.79 deaths per 100 live births | -11.3% |
| 2010 | 5.09 deaths per 100 live births | -12.1% |
| 2011 | 4.6 deaths per 100 live births | -9.6% |
| 2012 | 4.33 deaths per 100 live births | -5.8% |
| 2013 | 4.16 deaths per 100 live births | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 3.99 deaths per 100 live births | -4.1% |
| 2015 | 3.83 deaths per 100 live births | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 3.69 deaths per 100 live births | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 3.58 deaths per 100 live births | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 3.49 deaths per 100 live births | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 3.43 deaths per 100 live births | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 3.39 deaths per 100 live births | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 3.4 deaths per 100 live births | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 3.44 deaths per 100 live births | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 3.49 deaths per 100 live births | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 3.52 deaths per 100 live births | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.13 deaths per 100 live births | 5.7 deaths per 100 live births | 7.03 deaths per 100 live births | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.52 deaths per 100 live births | 5.79 deaths per 100 live births | 8.34 deaths per 100 live births | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.02 deaths per 100 live births | 3.43 deaths per 100 live births | 5.09 deaths per 100 live births | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.45 deaths per 100 live births | 3.39 deaths per 100 live births | 3.52 deaths per 100 live births | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 49 Eritrea 3.72 deaths per 100 live births compare
- 50 Senegal 3.63 deaths per 100 live births compare
- 51 Ghana 3.59 deaths per 100 live births compare
- 53 Gabon 3.3 deaths per 100 live births compare
- 54 Dominican Republic 3.11 deaths per 100 live births compare
- 55 Bangladesh 3.08 deaths per 100 live births compare
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,152 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 3,333 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.4769 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1279 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.5816 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.1293 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is child mortality rate by household wealth in South Africa?
- Child mortality rate by household wealth in South Africa was 3.52 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest child mortality rate by household wealth recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.34 deaths per 100 live births in 2004.
- What is the lowest child mortality rate by household wealth recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.39 deaths per 100 live births in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for child mortality rate by household wealth?
- South Africa ranks 52nd out of 106 countries with data for 2024.
- Is child mortality rate by household wealth rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Child mortality rate by household wealth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of deaths of children aged under five years, per 100 live births in the middle 20% of the population in terms of wealth.