Infant mortality rate in Malaysia

Malaysia: Infant mortality rate was 0.6% in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
0.6%
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
156th
of 236 countries
All-time high
11.5%
in 1950
All-time low
0.6%
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Infant mortality rate in Malaysia, 1950–2023

02.557.51012.5195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of infants.

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 0.6% for infant mortality rate in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, infant mortality rate in Malaysia peaked at 11.5% in 1950 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2023.

Malaysia ranks 156th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 9.4% 7.4% 11.5% 10
1960s 5.6% 4.5% 7.0% 10
1970s 3.5% 2.6% 4.3% 10
1980s 1.9% 1.4% 2.5% 10
1990s 1.1% 0.9% 1.4% 10
2000s 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 10
2010s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 10
2020s 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 4

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 154 Kuwait 0.7% compare
  2. 155 Costa Rica 0.6% compare
  3. 158 Thailand 0.6% compare
  4. 159 Faroe Islands 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is infant mortality rate in Malaysia?
Infant mortality rate in Malaysia was 0.6% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest infant mortality rate recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 11.5% in 1950.
What is the lowest infant mortality rate recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2023.
How does Malaysia rank for infant mortality rate?
Malaysia ranks 156th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is infant mortality rate rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Infant mortality rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Infant mortality rate
Unit
% of infants
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The share of newborns who die before reaching the age of one.