Neonatal mortality rate in Cameroon

Cameroon: Neonatal mortality rate was 2.48 deaths per 100 live births in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
2.48 deaths per 100 live births
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
24th
of 199 countries
All-time high
8.54 deaths per 100 live births
in 1955
All-time low
2.48 deaths per 100 live births
in 2024
Years of data
70
1955–2024

Neonatal mortality rate in Cameroon, 1955–2024

2468195519892024

Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100 live births.

Analysis

The most recent figure for neonatal mortality rate in Cameroon is 2.48 deaths per 100 live births, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 70 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 17.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, neonatal mortality rate in Cameroon peaked at 8.54 deaths per 100 live births in 1955 and was at its lowest, 2.48 deaths per 100 live births, in 2024.

That places Cameroon 24th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 70 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 8.04 deaths per 100 live births 7.54 deaths per 100 live births 8.54 deaths per 100 live births 5
1960s 6.76 deaths per 100 live births 6.09 deaths per 100 live births 7.34 deaths per 100 live births 10
1970s 5.5 deaths per 100 live births 5.26 deaths per 100 live births 5.91 deaths per 100 live births 10
1980s 4.61 deaths per 100 live births 4.08 deaths per 100 live births 5.18 deaths per 100 live births 10
1990s 3.89 deaths per 100 live births 3.63 deaths per 100 live births 4.04 deaths per 100 live births 10
2000s 3.34 deaths per 100 live births 3.19 deaths per 100 live births 3.54 deaths per 100 live births 10
2010s 2.96 deaths per 100 live births 2.73 deaths per 100 live births 3.16 deaths per 100 live births 10
2020s 2.58 deaths per 100 live births 2.48 deaths per 100 live births 2.68 deaths per 100 live births 5

Countries ranked near Cameroon

  1. 21 Ethiopia 2.52 deaths per 100 live births compare
  2. 22 Mozambique 2.51 deaths per 100 live births compare
  3. 23 Eswatini 2.5 deaths per 100 live births compare
  4. 25 Burkina Faso 2.38 deaths per 100 live births compare
  5. 26 Sudan 2.37 deaths per 100 live births compare
  6. 27 Democratic Republic of Congo 2.36 deaths per 100 live births compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More health data for Cameroon

All data for Cameroon →

Frequently asked questions

What is neonatal mortality rate in Cameroon?
Neonatal mortality rate in Cameroon was 2.48 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest neonatal mortality rate recorded in Cameroon?
The highest recorded value was 8.54 deaths per 100 live births in 1955.
What is the lowest neonatal mortality rate recorded in Cameroon?
The lowest recorded value was 2.48 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.
How does Cameroon rank for neonatal mortality rate?
Cameroon ranks 24th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
Is neonatal mortality rate rising or falling in Cameroon?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Cameroon 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 Neonatal mortality rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 70 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Neonatal mortality rate
Unit
deaths per 100 live births
Source
United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 10,377 data points, 1951–2024
Last refreshed

The estimated number of deaths of children aged less than 28 days, per 100 live births .