What is child mortality rate in Malawi?

Child mortality rate in Malawi was 4.88 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 rate recorded in Malawi?

The highest recorded value was 35.85 deaths per 100 live births in 1961.

What is the lowest child mortality rate recorded in Malawi?

The lowest recorded value was 4.88 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.

How does Malawi rank for child mortality rate?

Malawi ranks 30th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.

Is child mortality rate rising or falling in Malawi?

Over the last ten years it is down 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Malawi 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 rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Child mortality rate in Malawi

Name: Child mortality rate in Malawi
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)

Malawi: Child mortality rate was 4.88 deaths per 100 live births in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)

4.88 deaths per 100 live births

Change on year

down 1.6%

World rank

30th

of 200 countries

All-time high

35.85 deaths per 100 live births

in 1961

All-time low

4.88 deaths per 100 live births

in 2024

Years of data

1961–2024

Child mortality rate in Malawi, 1961–2024

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

Malawi recorded 4.88 deaths per 100 live births for child mortality rate in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 18.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, child mortality rate in Malawi peaked at 35.85 deaths per 100 live births in 1961 and was at its lowest, 4.88 deaths per 100 live births, in 2024.

That places Malawi 30th out of 200 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	35.2 deaths per 100 live births	34.51 deaths per 100 live births	35.85 deaths per 100 live births	9
1970s	30.7 deaths per 100 live births	26.54 deaths per 100 live births	34.17 deaths per 100 live births	10
1980s	25.09 deaths per 100 live births	24.55 deaths per 100 live births	25.69 deaths per 100 live births	10
1990s	21.26 deaths per 100 live births	18.23 deaths per 100 live births	24.35 deaths per 100 live births	10
2000s	12.88 deaths per 100 live births	8.53 deaths per 100 live births	23.9 deaths per 100 live births	10
2010s	6.15 deaths per 100 live births	5.13 deaths per 100 live births	8.01 deaths per 100 live births	10
2020s	4.98 deaths per 100 live births	4.88 deaths per 100 live births	5.04 deaths per 100 live births	5

Countries ranked near Malawi

27 Haiti 5.28 deaths per 100 live births compare
28 Angola 4.9 deaths per 100 live births compare
29 Djibouti 4.89 deaths per 100 live births compare
31 Uganda 4.87 deaths per 100 live births compare
32 Zambia 4.84 deaths per 100 live births compare
33 East Timor 4.76 deaths per 100 live births compare

See the full ranking of 200 places →

More health data for Malawi

Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 856.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
Number of infants who die before age 1 6,399 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 193,780 (2025)
Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 198,476 (2025)
Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 200,046 (2025)
Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 204,753 (2025)
Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 207,829 (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 212,512 (2025)

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is child mortality rate in Malawi?: Child mortality rate in Malawi was 4.88 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 rate recorded in Malawi?: The highest recorded value was 35.85 deaths per 100 live births in 1961.
What is the lowest child mortality rate recorded in Malawi?: The lowest recorded value was 4.88 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.
How does Malawi rank for child mortality rate?: Malawi ranks 30th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.
Is child mortality rate rising or falling in Malawi?: Over the last ten years it is down 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malawi 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 rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Child mortality rate
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: 200 places, 16,161 data points, 1751–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

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