Number of infant deaths in World

World: Number of infant deaths was 3.62 million in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
3.62 million
Change on year
down 2.2%
Rank
1st
of 45 groups
All-time high
8.97 million
in 1990
All-time low
3.62 million
in 2024
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Number of infant deaths in World, 1990–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M1990200720241990: 9.0M1991: 8.8M1992: 8.5M1993: 8.3M1994: 8.1M1995: 8.0M1996: 7.8M1997: 7.6M1998: 7.5M1999: 7.2M2000: 7.1M2001: 6.9M2002: 6.6M2003: 6.4M2004: 6.2M2005: 6.0M2006: 5.8M2007: 5.6M2008: 5.5M2009: 5.3M2010: 5.2M2011: 5.1M2012: 4.9M2013: 4.7M2014: 4.6M2015: 4.5M2016: 4.4M2017: 4.3M2018: 4.1M2019: 4.0M2020: 3.9M2021: 3.9M2022: 3.8M2023: 3.7M2024: 3.6M

Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Analysis

World recorded 3.62 million for number of infant deaths in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 21.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of infant deaths in World peaked at 8.97 million in 1990 and was at its lowest, 3.62 million, in 2024.

That places World 1st out of 45 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Number of infant deaths in World, year by year

Annual values for Number of infant deaths in World, 1990 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1990 8.97 million
1991 8.78 million -2.1%
1992 8.50 million -3.2%
1993 8.32 million -2.2%
1994 8.14 million -2.2%
1995 7.96 million -2.2%
1996 7.84 million -1.5%
1997 7.64 million -2.5%
1998 7.49 million -2.0%
1999 7.24 million -3.3%
2000 7.07 million -2.4%
2001 6.90 million -2.4%
2002 6.64 million -3.7%
2003 6.40 million -3.6%
2004 6.21 million -3.0%
2005 5.96 million -4.1%
2006 5.76 million -3.2%
2007 5.59 million -2.9%
2008 5.45 million -2.5%
2009 5.34 million -2.1%
2010 5.18 million -3.0%
2011 5.08 million -1.8%
2012 4.89 million -3.8%
2013 4.74 million -3.1%
2014 4.62 million -2.7%
2015 4.49 million -2.7%
2016 4.38 million -2.4%
2017 4.27 million -2.5%
2018 4.12 million -3.7%
2019 4.01 million -2.6%
2020 3.89 million -2.9%
2021 3.86 million -0.9%
2022 3.83 million -0.6%
2023 3.70 million -3.5%
2024 3.62 million -2.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8.09 million 7.24 million 8.97 million 10
2000s 6.13 million 5.34 million 7.07 million 10
2010s 4.58 million 4.01 million 5.18 million 10
2020s 3.78 million 3.62 million 3.89 million 5

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 India 539,573 compare
  2. 2 Nigeria 519,644 compare
  3. 3 Pakistan 329,205 compare
  4. 4 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 247,025 compare

See the full ranking of 243 places →

More health data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of infant deaths in World?
Number of infant deaths in World was 3.62 million in 2024, according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
What is the highest number of infant deaths recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 8.97 million in 1990.
What is the lowest number of infant deaths recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 3.62 million in 2024.
How does World rank for number of infant deaths?
World ranks 1st out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
Is number of infant deaths rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is down 21.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this World data come from?
The figures come from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Number of infant deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of infant deaths in World. Statizoid, drawing on UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-infant-deaths/world/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of infant deaths
Source
UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
243 places, 13,405 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Number of infants dying before reaching one year of age.