Ranked: Countries with Highest (and Lowest) Rates of Infant Mortality, 2024

Infant mortality refers to the death of a baby before their first birthday. This figure is crucial in determining the overall well-being of a society. The infant mortality rate, which is the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births, provides important information about the health of both babies and mothers in a given population. CEOWORLD Magazine explores the concept of infant mortality rate in this report that discusses its significance as a population marker. The publication’s researchers also highlight countries with high rates of infant mortality, helping readers understand which regions require assistance in addressing this long-standing social and economic issue.

What are the primary causes of infant deaths?

Infant mortality refers to a baby’s demise before he turns one year old. Most of these tragic events during childhood happen during a child’s first year of life or the neonatal period. Neonatal mortality accounts for 70 to 80 percent of baby deaths. Several healthcare conditions contribute to infant mortality. The largest contributor is premature or preterm birth and its complications. This event happens when a mother delivers her baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy, when normal pregnancy is for 40 weeks.

Babies also lose their lives to birth asphyxia, birth defects like congenital malformations, low birth weight, malnutrition, accidental suffocation, and other injuries. A mother’s pregnancy complications and sudden infant death syndrome lead to infant mortality, as well as diseases, such as lower respiratory infections, pneumonia, and diarrhea. Neonatal encephalopathy also causes baby deaths, in which brain function problems happen due to the dearth of oxygen during delivery.

Which countries have the highest infant death incidence?

CEOWORLD magazine’s researchers have provided a table that highlights the countries with high infant mortality rates. Sierra Leone tops the list with 80.50 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, followed by the Central African Republic with 77.24. The top 10 countries on the list are all located in Africa. These nations face challenges such as a lack of access to clean water, adequate food, trained healthcare professionals, and necessary medications, all of which contribute to high rates of infant mortality.

Which countries have the lowest infant death rates?

In the list of top 10 countries with the lowest infant death rates, it is evident that most of the countries are developed ones. In contrast, poor African countries have high rates of infant deaths before their first birthday. This is due to poverty, malaria, malnutrition, and underdeveloped infrastructure in those countries. Moreover, the top 10 countries in the list, such as San Marino, Monaco, Estonia, and Singapore, have better living conditions and lower poverty rates than the poor African nations. They also have adequate healthcare services, and their fertility and birth rates are not as high as those in developing countries. As a result, they face fewer challenges related to these issues.

Countries with Highest (and Lowest) Rates of Infant Mortality, 2024

What is the future trend for infant mortality?

Infant mortality incidence is a measure of the number of newborn and sometimes unborn babies that pass away. This rate varies among different populations. Developing countries, especially poor African countries, have the highest infant mortality rate due to the lack of essential elements that are necessary to prevent baby deaths. These crucial factors include access to clean drinking water, adequate food, and trained healthcare professionals, among others.

In developed countries, the incidence of infant mortality is low, which is the opposite of what is seen in Africa. However, the United States, being the world’s largest economy with an ever-increasing population, also faces a problem of infant mortality. The rate of infant deaths per 1,000 live births in the US is 5.44, which is higher compared to other developed nations such as Australia (3.18), Sweden (2.08), and Japan (1.79). This places the US at the 54th position among the 199 territories and countries that were analyzed.

CEOWORLD magazine’s researchers discovered that the overall collective international infant death incidence has considerably diminished. This rate has plummeted to 52.8 baby deaths per 1,000 live births from roughly 140 infant deaths per 1,000 live births between 1950 to 1955.

It is not possible for a single entity to completely solve the issue of infant deaths. In order to reduce the mortality rates of infants, researchers at CEOWORLD magazine suggest that governments, non-governmental organizations, private companies, and citizens work together with public health agencies. This partnership should include healthcare providers and community units, and is crucial in reducing, and potentially eliminating, the long-standing problem of families losing their newborn children.

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