Countries by under-five mortality rate

South Sudan had the highest under-five mortality rate of 195 countries in 2015, at 240.8 per 1,000 live births. San Marino had the lowest, at 1.9 per 1,000 live births. The median was 18.2 per 1,000 live births and the figure for the World was 42.9 per 1,000 live births. Source: the World Bank.

Highest240.8South Sudan

Lowest1.9San Marino

Median18.2195 countries

World42.9History

Top 40 countries, 2015

per 1,000 live births. Source: World Bank (modelled estimate), Mortality rate, under-5, per 1,000 live births (SH.DYN.MORT). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

Rank	Countries	2015 per 1,000 live births	Change on 2014
1	South Sudan	240.8	+58.2
2	Sierra Leone	136.8	+0.9
3	Somalia	134.3	-4.3
4	Chad	128.7	-3.6
5	Niger	125.4	-1.4
6	Nigeria	117.8	-0.9
7	Central African Republic	113.7	-73.1
7	Guinea	113.7	-1.7
9	Mali	109.7	-4.7
10	Burkina Faso	100.8	-3.5
11	Benin	96.1	-2.3
12	Liberia	93.2	-3.8
13	Equatorial Guinea	92.1	-3.2
14	Democratic Republic of the Congo	91.9	-0.8
15	Guinea-Bissau	91.6	-3.6
16	Cameroon	88.5	-3.9
17	Côte d’Ivoire	85.5	-3.1
18	Mozambique	75.8	-3.9
19	Togo	75.2	-2.5
20	Lesotho	75.1	-2.5
21	Pakistan	74.8	-2.4
22	Afghanistan	71.9	-2.7
23	Haiti	69.1	-1.8
24	Burundi	66.9	-3.7
25	Madagascar	65.3	-0.4
26	Djibouti	65.2	-2
27	Ethiopia	64.4	-3.3
28	Sudan	63.5	-1.9
29	Angola	61.8	-2.7
30	Timor-Leste	60.2	-1.7
30	Zambia	60.2	-2.4
32	Zimbabwe	59.2	-0.6
33	Gambia	58.9	-2.5
34	Kiribati	58.6	+0.6
35	Uganda	57.9	-2.3
36	Eswatini	57.5	-2.5
37	Malawi	57.4	-2.6
38	Papua New Guinea	57.3	+4
39	Tanzania	54.3	-2
40	Republic of the Congo	52.7	-1.8
41	Ghana	52.5	-2.4
42	Senegal	52.2	-1.5
43	Namibia	51.8	+1.8
44	Myanmar	50.5	-1.9
45	Yemen	49.3	+0.6
46	Mauritania	49.1	-1.5
47	Comoros	48.9	-1.1
48	Rwanda	47.3	-1.9
49	Kenya	46.8	-1.5
50	Botswana	46.7	-2.3
51	Eritrea	46.4	-1.7
52	Gabon	44.4	-1.4
52	Laos	44.4	-2.4
54	India	43.7	-2.7
55	Turkmenistan	43.2	+0.3
56	Bangladesh	38.5	-2
57	South Africa	38.2	-1.5
58	Nepal	37.8	-1.9
59	Syria	37.1	+1.6
60	Marshall Islands	35.2	-0.9
61	Dominican Republic	34.9	0
62	Guyana	33.3	-1
63	Tajikistan	32.2	-0.8
64	Micronesia	29.8	-0.9
65	Cambodia	29.6	-2.4
66	Iraq	29.3	-1
67	Bhutan	29.2	-2
67	Dominica	29.2	+0.9
69	Guatemala	28.1	-1.1
70	Azerbaijan	27.9	-1.7
70	Philippines	27.9	-0.1
72	Bolivia	26.7	-1.7
73	Egypt	26.5	-0.6
74	Indonesia	26.1	-1.2
75	Tuvalu	26	-0.9
76	Solomon Islands	25	-0.4
77	Algeria	24.9	-0.5
78	São Tomé and Príncipe	23.3	-2.2
79	Morocco	23.1	-1.4
80	Trinidad and Tobago	22.7	-0.4
81	Kyrgyzstan	22.3	-1.2
82	Paraguay	21.9	-0.8
83	Vietnam	21.6	-0.4
84	North Korea	21.4	-1.2
85	Palau	21.3	+0.7
86	Fiji	20.9	+0.3
87	Suriname	20.6	-0.5
88	Honduras	20.3	-0.8
89	Uzbekistan	19.7	-1.6
90	Mongolia	19.4	-1
90	Saint Kitts and Nevis	19.4	0
92	Cape Verde	19.2	-1.7
93	Venezuela	19.1	+0.8
94	Jamaica	18.7	-0.1
94	Saint Lucia	18.7	-0.1
96	Vanuatu	18.6	-0.2
97	Samoa	18.3	-0.2
98	Palestine	18.2	-3.7
98	Tunisia	18.2	-0.1
100	Grenada	17.5	+0.3
100	Nauru	17.5	-1.7
102	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	17.4	-0.8
103	Nicaragua	17.2	-1.1
104	Panama	17.1	-0.2
105	Mexico	16.6	-0.4
105	Peru	16.6	-0.6
107	Jordan	16.5	-0.5
108	Brazil	16	-0.3
109	Belize	15.6	-0.7
109	Moldova	15.6	-0.2
111	British Virgin Islands	15.5	-0.1
111	Colombia	15.5	-0.5
111	Iran	15.5	-0.6
114	Ecuador	15.3	-0.6
115	Armenia	14.7	-0.7
116	El Salvador	14.6	-0.7
116	Seychelles	14.6	+0.1
118	Mauritius	14.5	-0.2
119	Bahamas	14	-0.2
120	Libya	13.3	-0.5
120	Türkiye	13.3	-0.7
122	Lebanon	12.9	+0.1
123	Barbados	12.8	-0.3
124	Kazakhstan	11.9	-1.1
124	Thailand	11.9	-0.4
124	Tonga	11.9	-0.2
127	Argentina	11.7	-0.5
128	North Macedonia	11.1	0
128	Oman	11.1	-0.1
130	Antigua and Barbuda	11	-0.2
131	Brunei	10.7	+0.1
131	China	10.7	-0.9
133	Georgia	10.6	-0.4
134	Maldives	9.9	-0.7
135	Albania	9.6	-0.3
136	Ukraine	9.5	-0.3
137	Romania	9.2	-0.7
138	Kuwait	9.1	-0.2
139	Costa Rica	9	-0.2
139	Saudi Arabia	9	-0.6
141	Uruguay	8.9	-0.4
142	Sri Lanka	8.7	-0.5
143	Bulgaria	8.2	-0.5
143	Malaysia	8.2	+0.1
143	Russia	8.2	-0.7
146	Chile	7.9	-0.2
147	Qatar	7.8	-0.3
148	Bahrain	7.7	-0.1
149	United Arab Emirates	7.6	-0.3
150	United States	6.8	0
151	Bosnia and Herzegovina	6.7	0
152	Malta	6.6	-0.1
153	Serbia	6.3	-0.3
154	Slovakia	6.2	-0.1
154	Turks and Caicos Islands	6.2	-0.2
156	Cuba	6.1	0
157	New Zealand	5.6	-0.2
158	Canada	5.3	-0.1
159	Hungary	5.1	-0.2
159	Latvia	5.1	-0.5
161	Lithuania	5	-0.1
162	Croatia	4.9	-0.1
162	Poland	4.9	-0.1
164	United Kingdom	4.5	0
165	Greece	4.3	+0.1
165	Switzerland	4.3	0
167	France	4.2	+0.1
167	Montenegro	4.2	-0.4
169	Belarus	4.1	-0.2
169	Belgium	4.1	0
169	Denmark	4.1	0
169	Netherlands	4.1	0
173	Australia	3.9	-0.1
173	Germany	3.9	-0.1
173	Israel	3.9	-0.1
176	Austria	3.7	-0.1
176	Ireland	3.7	-0.1
178	Portugal	3.6	0
179	Andorra	3.5	-0.2
179	Italy	3.5	-0.1
179	Monaco	3.5	-0.1
179	South Korea	3.5	-0.1
183	Spain	3.3	-0.1
184	Czechia	3.2	+0.1
184	Estonia	3.2	-0.2
186	Sweden	2.9	0
187	Japan	2.8	-0.1
188	Norway	2.7	-0.1
188	Singapore	2.7	0
190	Iceland	2.6	0
190	Slovenia	2.6	-0.1
192	Cyprus	2.5	-0.1
192	Finland	2.5	-0.1
192	Luxembourg	2.5	-0.1
195	San Marino	1.9	-0.1

Other periods

About this ranking

Probability that a newborn dies before reaching age five, per 1,000 live births, if subject to the age-specific mortality of the year.

Includes infant deaths, so it is always higher than the infant mortality rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Mortality rate, under-5, per 1,000 live births (SH.DYN.MORT). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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Questions

Which country has the highest under-five mortality rate?

South Sudan, with 240.8 per 1,000 live births in 2015, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest under-five mortality rate?

San Marino, with 1.9 per 1,000 live births in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Mortality rate, under-5, per 1,000 live births (SH.DYN.MORT). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Under-five mortality rate: other rankings

EU countries