Levels and Trends in Child Mortality
Key Facts and Figures
[Embargoed until 13 September 2012 00:01 GMT]
ABOUT CHILD MORTALITY ESTIMATES FOR 20111
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1
The number of under-five deaths has decreased from nearly 12 million in 1990 to less 6.9
million in 2011 (see Fig. 1 below). About 14,000 fewer children die each day than did two
decades ago. Still, almost 19,000 children under five die every day.
The global under-five mortality rate has fallen from 87 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 51
per 1,000 live births in 2011.
The most pronounced drops in under-five mortality rates from 1990 to 2011 (of at least
50%) have occurred in four regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the
Pacific; Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States; and the
Middle East and North Africa. (Fig. 1)
Twenty high-mortality countries have reduced their mortality rates by more than half
since 1990; four countries—Lao People’s Democratic Republic(-72%), Timor-Leste (-70%),
Liberia (-68%) and Bangladesh (-67%) – have achieved a reduction of at least two thirds.
(Fig. 2)
In 2011, around 50 per cent of global under-five deaths occurred in just five countries:
India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and China. (Fig 3)
Sub-Saharan Africa, though lagging behind the other regions, has also registered a 39 per
cent decline in the under-five mortality rate from 1990 to 2011. (Fig. 1)
In some countries, the total number of under-five deaths has increased: Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Chad, Somalia, Mali, Cameroon and Burkina Faso have experienced a
rise in their national burden of under-five deaths by 10,000 or more for 2011 as compared to
1990.
8 of the 10 countries with the highest rates of under-five mortality are in conflict or in fragile
situations. (Fig. 4)
Several populous middle-income countries have posted rapid declines in under-five
mortality in recent decades (1990-2011): Turkey (7.4% annual rate of reduction (ARR)) Peru
(6.8% ARR) and El Salvador (6.6% ARR).
The world’s lowest under-five mortality rates are in Singapore, the Nordic countries, some
European countries and Japan. (Fig.5)
Among very low mortality countries, a diverse group have achieved the sharpest reductions in
under-five mortality rates in the 1990-2011 period. Oman (8.1% ARR), Estonia (8.1% ARR),
Saudi Arabia (7.3% ARR), Portugal (6.9% ARR) and Serbia (6.6% ARR).
Levels and Trends in Child Mortality, September 13 th 2012, UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality
Estimation (IGME)
ABOUT CAUSES OF DEATHS2
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2
Globally, the five leading causes of deaths among children under five include pneumonia
(18%): pre-term birth complications (14%); diarrhoea (11%); intrapartum-related
complications (9%) and malaria (7%).
Evidence suggests many of the major declines in under-five deaths in all regions were related
to expanded efforts against infectious diseases. For example, measles deaths have declined
from an estimated 0.5 million in 2000 to 0.1 million in 2011.
Pneumonia is the leading killer of children under five, causing 18% of all under-five deaths
worldwide - a loss of roughly 1.3 million lives in 2011, the bulk of which occur in just two
regions, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Diarrhoea’s toll has dropped by a third over the past decade, from 1.2 million deaths in 2000
to 0.7 million in 2011.
Nearly all of roughly 0.5 million malaria under-five deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa in
2011. A decade of malaria prevention has saved an estimated one million children’s lives
overall.
Around 40 per cent of deaths among children under five occur during the neonatal period
(i.e. during the first 28 days of life). In 2011 this amounted to about 3 million deaths
worldwide. The heaviest burdens are in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, which have both
the highest neonatal mortality rates among regions and the largest number of annual births.
The majority of neonatal deaths result from preterm birth complications or from intrapartum related events .
Globally, more than a third of child deaths are attributable to undernutrition.
Without treatment, 50 per cent of HIV-infected children die before the age of two. In
countries with high HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV-associated mortality in 2010
among children under five ranged from 10 per cent in Mozambique and Zambia to 28 per cent
in South Africa.
A Promise Renewed: Progress Report, Sept 13th 2012, UNICEF.
(Fig 1) Under-five mortality rates and number of deaths, global and regional in 1990 and
2011
Region
Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Eastern and Southern Africa
West and Central Africa
Middle East and North Africa
Asia
South Asia
East Asia and Pacific
Latin America and the Caribbean
CEE/CIS
World
Under-five mortality
rate
(deaths per 1,000 live
births)
1990
2011
163
100
178
109
162
84
197
132
72
36
85
44
119
62
55
20
53
19
48
21
87
51
Number of under-five
deaths
(in thousands)
1990
2011
4,104
3,457
3,821
3,370
1,664
1,177
2,058
2,096
656
351
6,504
2,899
4,340
2,309
2,164
590
610
203
358
125
11,968
6,914
Decline in under-five
mortality rate (%)
1990-2011
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2012.
(Fig 2) Top 10 countries with greatest percentage decline in 1990-2011 (among countries with
under-five mortality rate of at least 40 deaths per 1,000 live births)
Country Name
Lao People’s Democratic
Republic
Timor-Leste
Liberia
Bangladesh
Rwanda
Nepal
Cambodia
Malawi
Madagascar
Bhutan
Percentage decline in
U5MR, 1990-2011 (%)
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2012.
71.6
69.9
67.5
66.9
65.4
64.3
63.6
63.6
61.8
61.2
39
39
48
33
50
49
48
63
64
56
41
(Fig 3) Top 10 countries with greatest number of under- five deaths in 2011
Country name
India
Nigeria
Democratic Republic of the
Congo
Pakistan
China
Ethiopia
Indonesia
Bangladesh
Uganda
Number of under-five
deaths (thousands)
1,655
756
465
352
249
194
134
134
131
Afghanistan
128
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2012.
(Fig 4) Top 10 countries with highest under- five mortality rate in 2011
Country name
U5MR 2011
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Mali
Chad
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central African Republic
Guinea-Bissau
Angola
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2012.
185
180
176
169
168
164
161
158
146
139
(Fig 5) Top 10 countries with lowest under- five mortality rate in 2011
Country name
U5MR 2011
Singapore
Slovenia
Sweden
Finland
Cyprus
Norway
Luxembourg
Japan
Portugal
Denmark
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2012.
2.6
2.8
2.8
2.9
3.1
3.1
3.2
3.4
3.4
3.7