Infant Mortality Rate by Country in 2026

2026 medium projection

Infant mortality is one of the clearest indicators of health conditions. In a pyramid it shows up as the gap between the number of babies born and the number who reach the next age bands.

Countries and areas: 237
Highest-ranked: Sierra Leone68.1
Rank 10: Liberia53.5
End of table: San Marino1.0

Estimate or projection?

The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.

Complete infant mortality rate by country in 2026 ranking

Select any country to inspect its full age-by-sex structure and projections.

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Infant Mortality Rate by Country in 2026
Rank	Country or area	Region	Infant deaths per 1,000 births	Under-five mortality
1	Sierra Leone	Africa	68.1	92.6
2	Nigeria	Africa	66.9	100.7
3	Central African Republic	Africa	64.8	89.7
4	Somalia	Africa	64.3	100.1
5	Guinea	Africa	63.1	89.9
6	South Sudan	Africa	62.2	96.5
7	Chad	Africa	61.7	96.1
8	Niger	Africa	61.0	109.5
9	Mali	Africa	57.9	89.1
10	Liberia	Africa	53.5	68.2
11	Burkina Faso	Africa	52.7	79.2
12	Lesotho	Africa	51.3	65.2
13	Benin	Africa	50.3	75.6
14	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	49.7	66.5
15	Ivory Coast	Africa	49.3	64.5
16	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	47.4	70.6
17	Mozambique	Africa	47.0	60.7
18	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	46.5	66.1
18	Pakistan	Asia	46.5	55.9
20	Angola	Africa	45.9	60.7
21	Cameroon	Africa	43.6	62.3
22	Haiti	Latin America and the Caribbean	42.6	54.7
22	Madagascar	Africa	42.6	62.0
24	Kiribati	Oceania	41.3	52.3
25	Afghanistan	Asia	40.0	51.2
26	Togo	Africa	39.1	55.4
27	Eswatini	Africa	36.0	47.5
27	Sudan	Africa	36.0	51.0
29	Zambia	Africa	35.7	48.7
30	Djibouti	Africa	34.0	47.1
31	Burundi	Africa	33.9	46.8
31	Timor-Leste	Asia	33.9	42.2
33	Comoros	Africa	33.3	41.7
34	Myanmar	Asia	31.6	39.3
35	Papua New Guinea	Oceania	30.8	38.1
36	Zimbabwe	Africa	30.5	42.1
37	Ethiopia	Africa	29.9	40.5
37	Yemen	Asia	29.9	36.9
39	Bolivia	Latin America and the Caribbean	29.6	38.5
40	Ghana	Africa	29.0	38.8
41	Kenya	Africa	28.2	39.0
42	Gambia	Africa	27.8	41.5
42	Laos	Asia	27.8	34.2
44	Malawi	Africa	27.6	36.7
45	Mauritania	Africa	27.5	34.1
46	Turkmenistan	Asia	27.1	34.0
47	Tanzania	Africa	26.9	36.3
48	Republic of the Congo	Africa	26.7	36.9
49	Botswana	Africa	26.5	35.2
50	Uganda	Africa	26.1	35.3
51	Namibia	Africa	25.9	35.1
52	Gabon	Africa	25.2	34.4
53	Dominica	Latin America and the Caribbean	25.1	29.7
54	Rwanda	Africa	24.6	33.1
55	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	24.2	30.2
56	Eritrea	Africa	24.0	31.4
57	South Africa	Africa	21.9	29.9
58	Senegal	Africa	21.4	31.6
59	Western Sahara	Africa	21.2	25.2
60	Marshall Islands	Oceania	21.0	26.4
61	India	Asia	20.9	26.1
62	Tajikistan	Asia	19.8	24.4
63	Nauru	Oceania	19.5	24.6
64	Philippines	Asia	19.1	25.5
65	Nepal	Asia	18.6	22.3
66	Niue	Oceania	18.1	22.4
67	Iraq	Asia	18.0	21.6
67	Micronesia	Oceania	18.0	21.8
69	Cambodia	Asia	17.6	21.0
70	Guyana	Latin America and the Caribbean	17.5	21.4
71	Palau	Oceania	16.9	20.5
72	Bhutan	Asia	16.6	19.5
73	Guatemala	Latin America and the Caribbean	16.4	20.2
74	Algeria	Africa	15.8	19.0
75	Indonesia	Asia	15.6	18.8
76	Bangladesh	Asia	15.3	19.1
76	Fiji	Oceania	15.3	19.4
78	Paraguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	15.2	18.4
79	Tuvalu	Oceania	15.1	18.5
80	Jamaica	Latin America and the Caribbean	14.7	17.9
81	Lebanon	Asia	14.6	17.2
82	Venezuela	Latin America and the Caribbean	14.0	16.9
82	Vietnam	Asia	14.0	18.8
84	Azerbaijan	Asia	13.3	15.9
84	Syria	Asia	13.3	18.4
86	Solomon Islands	Oceania	13.2	16.2
86	Vanuatu	Oceania	13.2	15.8
88	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	13.1	15.1
89	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	13.0	15.5
90	Morocco	Africa	12.8	15.2
90	North Korea	Asia	12.8	16.1
92	Samoa	Oceania	12.2	14.6
93	Egypt	Africa	12.0	14.8
94	Honduras	Latin America and the Caribbean	11.9	14.2
95	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America and the Caribbean	11.8	13.3
96	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	11.7	13.6
97	Uzbekistan	Asia	11.6	14.0
98	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America and the Caribbean	11.5	13.6
99	Kyrgyzstan	Asia	11.3	13.7
100	Brazil	Latin America and the Caribbean	11.2	12.9
100	Saint Helena	Africa	11.2	12.9
102	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	11.1	13.7
103	Mauritius	Africa	11.0	12.6
104	Jordan	Asia	10.8	12.6
105	Wallis and Futuna Islands	Oceania	10.7	12.5
106	State of Palestine	Asia	10.6	12.5
107	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.5	11.7
108	Aruba	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.4	12.5
109	Isle of Man	Europe	10.3	13.0
109	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	10.3	12.3
109	Suriname	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.3	11.9
112	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.2	12.4
113	Bahamas	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.1	11.9
113	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.1	11.7
113	British Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	10.1	11.6
116	Mexico	Latin America and the Caribbean	9.7	11.7
116	Panama	Latin America and the Caribbean	9.7	12.4
116	Seychelles	Africa	9.7	11.8
119	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	9.6	12.1
120	Guam	Oceania	9.4	11.1
121	Ecuador	Latin America and the Caribbean	9.3	11.4
121	Moldova	Europe	9.3	11.2
123	Greenland	Northern America	9.2	10.9
124	Colombia	Latin America and the Caribbean	9.0	11.0
125	Cabo Verde	Africa	8.8	10.8
126	Tunisia	Africa	8.7	10.6
127	El Salvador	Latin America and the Caribbean	8.6	10.4
127	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Latin America and the Caribbean	8.6	9.9
129	Argentina	Latin America and the Caribbean	8.5	9.8
129	Armenia	Asia	8.5	9.7
129	Iran	Asia	8.5	10.1
132	French Guiana	Latin America and the Caribbean	8.3	10.4
132	Kosovo	Europe	8.3	9.3
134	Belize	Latin America and the Caribbean	8.2	9.9
134	Jersey	Europe	8.2	9.5
136	Mongolia	Asia	8.1	10.0
136	Tonga	Oceania	8.1	9.6
138	Gibraltar	Europe	8.0	10.1
138	Turkey	Asia	8.0	9.5
140	American Samoa	Oceania	7.9	9.9
140	Mayotte	Africa	7.9	10.1
140	New Caledonia	Oceania	7.9	10.0
143	Curaçao	Latin America and the Caribbean	7.8	9.3
144	Oman	Asia	7.7	9.4
145	Thailand	Asia	7.6	9.6
146	Saint Martin (French part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	7.5	8.7
147	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Northern America	7.4	8.9
148	Brunei	Asia	7.3	8.8
149	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America and the Caribbean	7.0	8.7
150	Libya	Africa	6.8	8.4
151	Albania	Europe	6.7	7.8
152	Kazakhstan	Asia	6.3	7.5
153	Georgia	Asia	6.2	7.1
153	Guadeloupe	Latin America and the Caribbean	6.2	7.6
155	Costa Rica	Latin America and the Caribbean	6.0	7.1
155	Kuwait	Asia	6.0	7.1
157	Martinique	Latin America and the Caribbean	5.9	7.2
158	North Macedonia	Europe	5.7	6.5
158	Vatican City	Europe	5.7	6.7
160	Saudi Arabia	Asia	5.6	6.9
160	Uruguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	5.6	6.7
162	Guernsey	Europe	5.5	6.4
163	China	Asia	5.4	6.8
163	Qatar	Asia	5.4	6.4
165	Liechtenstein	Europe	5.3	6.2
166	Chile	Latin America and the Caribbean	5.2	6.0
167	Faroe Islands	Europe	5.1	6.5
168	Cook Islands	Oceania	5.0	6.0
169	Andorra	Europe	4.9	5.7
169	Bahrain	Asia	4.9	5.9
169	French Polynesia	Oceania	4.9	5.7
169	Montserrat	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.9	5.9
169	Saint Barthélemy	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.9	5.7
174	Malaysia	Asia	4.8	5.9
174	Romania	Europe	4.8	5.9
176	Sri Lanka	Asia	4.7	5.8
176	Ukraine	Europe	4.7	5.6
176	United Arab Emirates	Asia	4.7	5.7
176	United States	Northern America	4.7	5.6
180	Bulgaria	Europe	4.6	5.5
180	Puerto Rico	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.6	6.2
180	United States Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.6	5.3
183	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	4.5	5.1
183	Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	4.5	5.8
185	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.4	5.2
185	Malta	Europe	4.4	5.2
185	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.4	5.4
188	Cuba	Latin America and the Caribbean	4.3	5.4
189	Maldives	Asia	4.1	5.0
190	Réunion	Africa	4.0	5.1
191	Russia	Europe	3.9	4.9
192	Canada	Northern America	3.8	4.4
192	Tokelau	Oceania	3.8	5.0
194	Monaco	Europe	3.7	4.3
194	Serbia	Europe	3.7	4.4
194	Slovakia	Europe	3.7	4.5
197	New Zealand	Oceania	3.5	4.4
198	United Kingdom	Europe	3.4	4.0
199	Croatia	Europe	3.2	3.8
200	Poland	Europe	3.1	3.6
201	France	Europe	3.0	3.6
201	Switzerland	Europe	3.0	3.5
203	Lithuania	Europe	2.9	3.6
203	Netherlands	Europe	2.9	3.4
203	Taiwan	Asia	2.9	4.1
206	Israel	Asia	2.8	3.6
207	Belgium	Europe	2.7	3.2
207	Denmark	Europe	2.7	3.2
207	Hungary	Europe	2.7	3.3
207	Luxembourg	Europe	2.7	3.5
211	Germany	Europe	2.6	3.2
211	Greece	Europe	2.6	3.1
211	Latvia	Europe	2.6	3.2
214	Australia	Oceania	2.5	3.0
214	Austria	Europe	2.5	3.2
214	Ireland	Europe	2.5	3.0
217	Cyprus	Asia	2.4	2.8
217	Macao	Asia	2.4	3.2
219	Belarus	Europe	2.3	2.9
220	Italy	Europe	2.1	2.5
220	Portugal	Europe	2.1	2.8
220	Spain	Europe	2.1	2.7
223	Czechia	Europe	2.0	2.5
224	South Korea	Asia	1.9	2.5
225	Bermuda	Northern America	1.8	2.1
225	Montenegro	Europe	1.8	3.1
227	Norway	Europe	1.7	2.0
227	Singapore	Asia	1.7	2.1
227	Sweden	Europe	1.7	2.3
230	Estonia	Europe	1.6	2.1
230	Finland	Europe	1.6	2.1
230	Japan	Asia	1.6	2.2
233	Hong Kong	Asia	1.4	1.8
234	Slovenia	Europe	1.3	1.6
235	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	1.1	1.5
235	Iceland	Europe	1.1	1.5
237	San Marino	Europe	1.0	1.3

What this ranking measures—and what it does not

Definition

The probability of dying between birth and exact age one, expressed per 1,000 live births. Under-five mortality extends the same measure to the fifth birthday.

Why it matters

Falling infant and child mortality is usually the first stage of the demographic transition: more children survive, the base of the pyramid widens, and fertility typically falls afterwards.

Read with care

Where vital registration is incomplete, the UN estimates these rates from surveys and models, and the uncertainty can be large. Rankings with values within a few points of each other should not be overinterpreted.

What stands out in this comparison

Sierra Leone leads with 68.1, while Liberia is at rank 10 with 53.5. At the other end of the complete table, San Marino has 1.0.

Those positions describe this particular indicator, definition, and reference period. They do not imply that every country near the top has the same population pyramid or demographic path. Open the profiles to compare the underlying cohorts.

First five

Sierra Leone — rank 1, 68.1; under-five mortality 92.6.
Nigeria — rank 2, 66.9; under-five mortality 100.7.
Central African Republic — rank 3, 64.8; under-five mortality 89.7.
Somalia — rank 4, 64.3; under-five mortality 100.1.
Guinea — rank 5, 63.1; under-five mortality 89.9.

Other end of the table

San Marino — rank 237, 1.0; under-five mortality 1.3.
Iceland — rank 235, 1.1; under-five mortality 1.5.
Cayman Islands — rank 235, 1.1; under-five mortality 1.5.
Slovenia — rank 234, 1.3; under-five mortality 1.6.
Hong Kong — rank 233, 1.4; under-five mortality 1.8.

Questions about this ranking

Which country or area ranks first for infant deaths per 1,000 births?

Sierra Leone ranks first in this comparison with 68.1. The table uses 2026 medium projection from UN World Population Prospects 2024.

Which values are estimates and which are projections?

In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections. The peak-year table labels historical and projected results separately.

Why might another source show a different rank?

Sources can use different reference dates, revisions, country definitions, estimation methods, or projection scenarios. Close ranks can also change after revisions.