Number of under-five deaths in World

World: Number of under-five deaths was 4.86 million in 2024. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2024)
4.86 million
Change on year
down 2.6%
Rank
1st
of 11 regions
All-time high
14.43 million
in 1980
All-time low
4.86 million
in 2024
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Number of under-five deaths in World, 1980–2024

4.0M6.0M8.0M10.0M12.0M14.0M1980200220241980: 14.4M1981: 14.3M1982: 14.2M1983: 14.2M1984: 14.0M1985: 13.9M1986: 13.7M1987: 13.5M1988: 13.6M1989: 13.1M1990: 13.0M1991: 12.7M1992: 12.4M1993: 12.1M1994: 11.8M1995: 11.5M1996: 11.3M1997: 11.0M1998: 10.8M1999: 10.4M2000: 10.1M2001: 9.8M2002: 9.4M2003: 9.0M2004: 8.8M2005: 8.3M2006: 8.0M2007: 7.7M2008: 7.5M2009: 7.4M2010: 7.1M2011: 7.0M2012: 6.6M2013: 6.4M2014: 6.3M2015: 6.1M2016: 5.9M2017: 5.8M2018: 5.6M2019: 5.4M2020: 5.3M2021: 5.2M2022: 5.2M2023: 5.0M2024: 4.9M

Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.

Analysis

World recorded 4.86 million for number of under-five deaths in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 45 years on record.

The figure is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 22.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of under-five deaths in World peaked at 14.43 million in 1980 and was at its lowest, 4.86 million, in 2024.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 13.91 million 13.12 million 14.43 million 10
1990s 11.70 million 10.36 million 12.97 million 10
2000s 8.60 million 7.35 million 10.06 million 10
2010s 6.22 million 5.43 million 7.08 million 10
2020s 5.11 million 4.86 million 5.26 million 5

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 Nigeria 855,676 compare
  2. 2 India 615,030 compare
  3. 2 Cook Islands 2 compare
  4. 3 Niue 1 compare
  5. 3 Anguilla, United Kingdom-British Overseas Territory 1 compare
  6. 3 Democratic Republic of the Congo 385,039 compare
  7. 4 Pakistan 381,586 compare

See the full ranking of 211 places β†’

More health data for World

All data for World β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is number of under-five deaths in World?
Number of under-five deaths in World was 4.86 million in 2024, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
What is the highest number of under-five deaths recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 14.43 million in 1980.
What is the lowest number of under-five deaths recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 4.86 million in 2024.
How does World rank for number of under-five deaths?
World ranks 1st out of 11 regions with data for 2024.
Is number of under-five deaths rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this World data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Number of under-five deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of under-five deaths in World. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-under-five-deaths-2/world/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of under-five deaths
Source
World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO)
Coverage
211 places, 12,522 data points, 1955–2024
Last refreshed