Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in India
India: Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths was 386,212 deaths in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
386,212 deaths
Change on year
down 5.1%
World rank
1st
of 199 countries
All-time high
1.89 million deaths
in 1974
All-time low
386,212 deaths
in 2024
Years of data
55
1970–2024
Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in India, 1970–2024
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
India recorded 386,212 deaths for number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.1% on the previous year and down 43.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in India peaked at 1.89 million deaths in 1974 and was at its lowest, 386,212 deaths, in 2024.
That places India 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 55 years of available data.
Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in India, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.84 million deaths | — |
| 1971 | 1.86 million deaths | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 1.87 million deaths | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 1.89 million deaths | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 1.89 million deaths | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 1.88 million deaths | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 1.88 million deaths | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 1.86 million deaths | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 1.84 million deaths | -1.0% |
| 1979 | 1.83 million deaths | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 1.83 million deaths | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 1.82 million deaths | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 1.81 million deaths | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 1.79 million deaths | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 1.78 million deaths | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 1.76 million deaths | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 1.74 million deaths | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 1.70 million deaths | -2.3% |
| 1988 | 1.68 million deaths | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 1.64 million deaths | -2.0% |
| 1990 | 1.60 million deaths | -2.3% |
| 1991 | 1.57 million deaths | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 1.54 million deaths | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 1.50 million deaths | -2.4% |
| 1994 | 1.47 million deaths | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 1.44 million deaths | -2.2% |
| 1996 | 1.40 million deaths | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 1.37 million deaths | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 1.34 million deaths | -2.5% |
| 1999 | 1.30 million deaths | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 1.27 million deaths | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 1.24 million deaths | -2.4% |
| 2002 | 1.20 million deaths | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 1.15 million deaths | -4.3% |
| 2004 | 1.10 million deaths | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 1.05 million deaths | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 1.00 million deaths | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 958,386 deaths | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 923,385 deaths | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 893,718 deaths | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 852,448 deaths | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 814,671 deaths | -4.4% |
| 2012 | 775,984 deaths | -4.7% |
| 2013 | 733,650 deaths | -5.5% |
| 2014 | 679,296 deaths | -7.4% |
| 2015 | 654,101 deaths | -3.7% |
| 2016 | 629,356 deaths | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 586,817 deaths | -6.8% |
| 2018 | 565,729 deaths | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 525,925 deaths | -7.0% |
| 2020 | 484,566 deaths | -7.9% |
| 2021 | 455,422 deaths | -6.0% |
| 2022 | 430,573 deaths | -5.5% |
| 2023 | 407,112 deaths | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 386,212 deaths | -5.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 386,212 deaths is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5,153 deaths, 74.9× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 386,212 deaths is above the median for South Asia, which is 4,929 deaths, 78.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.86 million deaths | 1.83 million deaths | 1.89 million deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.76 million deaths | 1.64 million deaths | 1.83 million deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.45 million deaths | 1.30 million deaths | 1.60 million deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.08 million deaths | 893,718 deaths | 1.27 million deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 681,798 deaths | 525,925 deaths | 852,448 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 432,777 deaths | 386,212 deaths | 484,566 deaths | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
More health data for India
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.12 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4372 % change on previous year (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 44,822 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.3809 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0372 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5922 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.04 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in India?
- Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths in India was 386,212 deaths in 2024, according to United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of neonatal, infant and child deaths recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 1.89 million deaths in 1974.
- What is the lowest number of neonatal, infant and child deaths recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 386,212 deaths in 2024.
- How does India rank for number of neonatal, infant and child deaths?
- India ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of neonatal, infant and child deaths rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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 Number of neonatal, infant and child deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of deaths of children aged less than 28 days .