Neonatal mortality rate gho in South Africa
South Africa: Neonatal mortality rate gho was 1.17 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.17
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
78th
of 199 countries
All-time high
2.83
in 1975
All-time low
1.15
in 2020
Years of data
49
1975–2023
Neonatal mortality rate gho in South Africa, 1975–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.17 for neonatal mortality rate gho in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, neonatal mortality rate gho in South Africa peaked at 2.83 in 1975 and was at its lowest, 1.15, in 2020.
South Africa ranks 78th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Neonatal mortality rate gho in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 2.83 | — |
| 1976 | 2.79 | -1.5% |
| 1977 | 2.76 | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 2.73 | -1.1% |
| 1979 | 2.68 | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 2.63 | -1.8% |
| 1981 | 2.57 | -2.2% |
| 1982 | 2.51 | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 2.44 | -2.7% |
| 1984 | 2.38 | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 2.32 | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 2.26 | -2.5% |
| 1987 | 2.21 | -2.4% |
| 1988 | 2.15 | -2.5% |
| 1989 | 2.1 | -2.4% |
| 1990 | 2.06 | -2.2% |
| 1991 | 2.01 | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 1.97 | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 1.93 | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 1.87 | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 1.81 | -3.4% |
| 1996 | 1.73 | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 1.64 | -5.6% |
| 1998 | 1.53 | -6.8% |
| 1999 | 1.43 | -6.4% |
| 2000 | 1.35 | -5.3% |
| 2001 | 1.3 | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 1.25 | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 1.23 | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 1.22 | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 1.23 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 1.24 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 1.26 | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 1.27 | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 1.27 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 1.25 | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 1.22 | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 1.2 | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 1.18 | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 1.17 | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 1.16 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 1.15 | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 1.15 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 1.15 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 1.15 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 1.15 | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.15 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 1.16 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 1.17 | +0.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.17 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7602, 1.5× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.17 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.4, 49% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.76 | 2.68 | 2.83 | 5 |
| 1980s | 2.36 | 2.1 | 2.63 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.8 | 1.43 | 2.06 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.26 | 1.22 | 1.35 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.18 | 1.15 | 1.25 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.17 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 3,333 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5504 % 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 0.045 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.0003 % 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 0.046 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is neonatal mortality rate gho in South Africa?
- Neonatal mortality rate gho in South Africa was 1.17 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest neonatal mortality rate gho recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.83 in 1975.
- What is the lowest neonatal mortality rate gho recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.15 in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for neonatal mortality rate gho?
- South Africa ranks 78th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is neonatal mortality rate gho rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Neonatal mortality rate gho. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).