Infant mortality rate in Somalia

Somalia: Infant mortality rate was 6.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
6.6%
Change on year
down 23.5%
World rank
4th
of 236 countries
All-time high
25.4%
in 1992
All-time low
6.6%
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Infant mortality rate in Somalia, 1950–2023

510152025195019862023

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

Analysis

In 2023, infant mortality rate in Somalia stood at 6.6%. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 23.5% on the previous year and down 24.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, infant mortality rate in Somalia peaked at 25.4% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 6.6%, in 2023.

Somalia ranks 4th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 14.6% 14.1% 15.2% 10
1960s 13.5% 13.0% 14.0% 10
1970s 12.8% 12.0% 13.6% 10
1980s 11.5% 10.9% 11.9% 10
1990s 13.4% 10.4% 25.4% 10
2000s 10.3% 9.8% 10.4% 10
2010s 10.1% 7.4% 20.1% 10
2020s 7.4% 6.6% 8.7% 4

Countries ranked near Somalia

  1. 1 Sierra Leone 7.2% compare
  2. 2 Nigeria 6.9% compare
  3. 3 Central African Republic 6.8% compare
  4. 5 Guinea 6.5% compare
  5. 6 Niger 6.5% compare
  6. 7 Chad 6.4% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Somalia

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is infant mortality rate in Somalia?
Infant mortality rate in Somalia was 6.6% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest infant mortality rate recorded in Somalia?
The highest recorded value was 25.4% in 1992.
What is the lowest infant mortality rate recorded in Somalia?
The lowest recorded value was 6.6% in 2023.
How does Somalia rank for infant mortality rate?
Somalia ranks 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is infant mortality rate rising or falling in Somalia?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Somalia 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.