Number of children who die before age 5 in India
India: Number of children who die before age 5 was 642,598 deaths in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
642,598 deaths
Change on year
down 5.8%
World rank
2nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
4.86 million deaths
in 1965
All-time low
642,598 deaths
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Number of children who die before age 5 in India, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
India recorded 642,598 deaths for number of children who die before age 5 in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.8% on the previous year and down 49.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children who die before age 5 in India peaked at 4.86 million deaths in 1965 and was at its lowest, 642,598 deaths, in 2023.
India ranks 2nd 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.
Number of children who die before age 5 in India, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.27 million deaths | — |
| 1951 | 4.34 million deaths | +1.6% |
| 1952 | 4.38 million deaths | +0.9% |
| 1953 | 4.42 million deaths | +1.0% |
| 1954 | 4.41 million deaths | -0.3% |
| 1955 | 4.42 million deaths | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 4.42 million deaths | +0.2% |
| 1957 | 4.44 million deaths | +0.3% |
| 1958 | 4.44 million deaths | -0.0% |
| 1959 | 4.43 million deaths | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 4.44 million deaths | +0.3% |
| 1961 | 4.47 million deaths | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 4.49 million deaths | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 4.52 million deaths | +0.5% |
| 1964 | 4.55 million deaths | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 4.86 million deaths | +6.8% |
| 1966 | 4.85 million deaths | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 4.84 million deaths | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 4.55 million deaths | -5.9% |
| 1969 | 4.55 million deaths | -0.0% |
| 1970 | 4.55 million deaths | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 4.57 million deaths | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 4.59 million deaths | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 4.59 million deaths | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 4.54 million deaths | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 4.49 million deaths | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 4.46 million deaths | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 4.40 million deaths | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 4.32 million deaths | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 4.26 million deaths | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 4.22 million deaths | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 4.17 million deaths | -1.2% |
| 1982 | 4.11 million deaths | -1.4% |
| 1983 | 4.05 million deaths | -1.4% |
| 1984 | 4.00 million deaths | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 3.94 million deaths | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 3.89 million deaths | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 3.81 million deaths | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 3.73 million deaths | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 3.64 million deaths | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 3.55 million deaths | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 3.46 million deaths | -2.5% |
| 1992 | 3.37 million deaths | -2.6% |
| 1993 | 3.28 million deaths | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 3.19 million deaths | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 3.10 million deaths | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 3.01 million deaths | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 2.91 million deaths | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 2.82 million deaths | -3.2% |
| 1999 | 2.72 million deaths | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 2.64 million deaths | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 2.56 million deaths | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 2.45 million deaths | -4.2% |
| 2003 | 2.33 million deaths | -4.8% |
| 2004 | 2.22 million deaths | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 2.09 million deaths | -5.7% |
| 2006 | 1.97 million deaths | -5.9% |
| 2007 | 1.85 million deaths | -5.9% |
| 2008 | 1.75 million deaths | -5.6% |
| 2009 | 1.66 million deaths | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 1.56 million deaths | -6.0% |
| 2011 | 1.47 million deaths | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 1.37 million deaths | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 1.28 million deaths | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 1.17 million deaths | -8.5% |
| 2015 | 1.10 million deaths | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 1.03 million deaths | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 955,501 deaths | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 899,927 deaths | -5.8% |
| 2019 | 837,527 deaths | -6.9% |
| 2020 | 774,068 deaths | -7.6% |
| 2021 | 724,076 deaths | -6.5% |
| 2022 | 682,130 deaths | -5.8% |
| 2023 | 642,598 deaths | -5.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.39 million deaths | 4.27 million deaths | 4.44 million deaths | 10 |
| 1960s | 4.61 million deaths | 4.44 million deaths | 4.86 million deaths | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.48 million deaths | 4.26 million deaths | 4.59 million deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.96 million deaths | 3.64 million deaths | 4.22 million deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.14 million deaths | 2.72 million deaths | 3.55 million deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.15 million deaths | 1.66 million deaths | 2.64 million deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.17 million deaths | 837,527 deaths | 1.56 million deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 705,718 deaths | 642,598 deaths | 774,068 deaths | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More health data for India
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- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4372 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,332 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 44,822 deaths (2100)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 3,249 (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 17,995 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children who die before age 5 in India?
- Number of children who die before age 5 in India was 642,598 deaths in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children who die before age 5 recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 4.86 million deaths in 1965.
- What is the lowest number of children who die before age 5 recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 642,598 deaths in 2023.
- How does India rank for number of children who die before age 5?
- India ranks 2nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children who die before age 5 rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children who die before age 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of deaths in a calendar year. This only includes people aged 0-4.