What is the highest mortality rate, under-5 recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?

The highest recorded value was 179.19 per 1,000 live births in 1991.

What is the lowest mortality rate, under-5 recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?

The lowest recorded value was 71.12 per 1,000 live births in 2024.

How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for mortality rate, under-5?

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 5th out of 47 groups with data for 2024.

Is mortality rate, under-5 rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?

Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?

The figures come from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

Name: Mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Creator: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Mortality rate, under-5 was 71.12 per 1,000 live births in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)

71.12 per 1,000 live births

Change on year

down 2.8%

Rank

5th

of 47 groups

All-time high

179.19 per 1,000 live births

in 1991

All-time low

71.12 per 1,000 live births

in 2024

Years of data

1990–2024

Mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1990–2024

Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Measured in per 1,000 live births.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) recorded 71.12 per 1,000 live births for mortality rate, under-5 in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

The figure is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 179.19 per 1,000 live births in 1991 and was at its lowest, 71.12 per 1,000 live births, in 2024.

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 5th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1990 to 2024.
Year	per 1,000 live births	Change
1990	178.22 per 1,000 live births	—
1991	179.19 per 1,000 live births	+0.5%
1992	178.07 per 1,000 live births	-0.6%
1993	176.39 per 1,000 live births	-0.9%
1994	173.07 per 1,000 live births	-1.9%
1995	168.28 per 1,000 live births	-2.8%
1996	169.19 per 1,000 live births	+0.5%
1997	165.39 per 1,000 live births	-2.2%
1998	164.24 per 1,000 live births	-0.7%
1999	155.62 per 1,000 live births	-5.2%
2000	150.46 per 1,000 live births	-3.3%
2001	146.15 per 1,000 live births	-2.9%
2002	138.84 per 1,000 live births	-5.0%
2003	132.9 per 1,000 live births	-4.3%
2004	127.57 per 1,000 live births	-4.0%
2005	119.72 per 1,000 live births	-6.2%
2006	113.98 per 1,000 live births	-4.8%
2007	109.09 per 1,000 live births	-4.3%
2008	104.39 per 1,000 live births	-4.3%
2009	102.31 per 1,000 live births	-2.0%
2010	97.17 per 1,000 live births	-5.0%
2011	96.69 per 1,000 live births	-0.5%
2012	90.73 per 1,000 live births	-6.2%
2013	87.57 per 1,000 live births	-3.5%
2014	86.66 per 1,000 live births	-1.0%
2015	84.78 per 1,000 live births	-2.2%
2016	83.2 per 1,000 live births	-1.9%
2017	82.23 per 1,000 live births	-1.2%
2018	78.78 per 1,000 live births	-4.2%
2019	77.72 per 1,000 live births	-1.3%
2020	75.74 per 1,000 live births	-2.5%
2021	77.03 per 1,000 live births	+1.7%
2022	77.91 per 1,000 live births	+1.1%
2023	73.14 per 1,000 live births	-6.1%
2024	71.12 per 1,000 live births	-2.8%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1990s	170.77 per 1,000 live births	155.62 per 1,000 live births	179.19 per 1,000 live births	10
2000s	124.54 per 1,000 live births	102.31 per 1,000 live births	150.46 per 1,000 live births	10
2010s	86.55 per 1,000 live births	77.72 per 1,000 live births	97.17 per 1,000 live births	10
2020s	74.99 per 1,000 live births	71.12 per 1,000 live births	77.91 per 1,000 live births	5

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

2 Niger 110.7 per 1,000 live births compare
3 Somalia 101.1 per 1,000 live births compare
4 Chad 97.3 per 1,000 live births compare
5 South Sudan 96.7 per 1,000 live births compare
6 Guinea 92.1 per 1,000 live births compare
7 Sierra Leone 90.5 per 1,000 live births compare
8 Central African Republic 89.7 per 1,000 live births compare
8 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 89.7 per 1,000 live births compare

See the full ranking of 244 places →

More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

Population ages 45-49, male, annual growth rate 3.97 % change on previous year (2025)
Population ages 40-44, male, per capita 0.0235 units per person (2025)
Population ages 45-49, female, annual growth rate 3.83 % change on previous year (2025)
Population ages 45-49, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Population ages 45-49, female, per capita 0.0195 units per person (2025)
Population ages 45-49, male, per capita 0.0189 units per person (2025)
Population ages 50-54, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Population ages 50-54, female, annual growth rate 3.38 % change on previous year (2025)
Population ages 40-44, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?: Mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 71.12 per 1,000 live births in 2024, according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
What is the highest mortality rate, under-5 recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?: The highest recorded value was 179.19 per 1,000 live births in 1991.
What is the lowest mortality rate, under-5 recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?: The lowest recorded value was 71.12 per 1,000 live births in 2024.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for mortality rate, under-5?: Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 5th out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
Is mortality rate, under-5 rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?: Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?: The figures come from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Mortality rate, under-5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/mortality-rate-under-5-per-1-000-live-births/sub-saharan-africa-excluding-high-income/

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About this data

Indicator: Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births)
Unit: per 1,000 live births
Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 244 places, 13,546 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed: 03 September 2026

Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.