Countries by under-five mortality rate

The Central African Republic had the highest under-five mortality rate of 195 countries in 2020, at 124.2 per 1,000 live births. San Marino had the lowest, at 1.5 per 1,000 live births. The median was 15.6 per 1,000 live births and the figure for the World was 39.2 per 1,000 live births. Source: the World Bank.

Lowest1.5San Marino
Median15.6195 countries
World39.2History

Top 40 countries, 2020

Central African Republic: 124.2 per 1,000 live birthsCentral African Republic124.2Niger: 119.5 per 1,000 live birthsNiger119.5Nigeria: 117.4 per 1,000 live birthsNigeria117.4Somalia: 114.7 per 1,000 live birthsSomalia114.7Chad: 110.6 per 1,000 live birthsChad110.6Sierra Leone: 104.4 per 1,000 live birthsSierra Leone104.4Guinea: 102.9 per 1,000 live birthsGuinea102.9South Sudan: 96.7 per 1,000 live birthsSouth Sudan96.7Democratic Republic of the Congo: 92.7 per 1,000 live birthsDemocratic Republic of the Congo92.7Liberia: 88.3 per 1,000 live birthsLiberia88.3Mali: 87.6 per 1,000 live birthsMali87.6Burkina Faso: 85.1 per 1,000 live birthsBurkina Faso85.1Benin: 84.6 per 1,000 live birthsBenin84.6Equatorial Guinea: 77.9 per 1,000 live birthsEquatorial Guinea77.9Guinea-Bissau: 76.7 per 1,000 live birthsGuinea-Bissau76.7Cameroon: 74.4 per 1,000 live birthsCameroon74.4Côte d’Ivoire: 73 per 1,000 live birthsCôte d’Ivoire73Mozambique: 67.6 per 1,000 live birthsMozambique67.6Lesotho: 66.3 per 1,000 live birthsLesotho66.3Madagascar: 65.1 per 1,000 live birthsMadagascar65.1Togo: 63.9 per 1,000 live birthsTogo63.9Pakistan: 63.7 per 1,000 live birthsPakistan63.7Zimbabwe: 61.7 per 1,000 live birthsZimbabwe61.7Afghanistan: 60.7 per 1,000 live birthsAfghanistan60.7Haiti: 59.8 per 1,000 live birthsHaiti59.8Kiribati: 58.3 per 1,000 live birthsKiribati58.3Djibouti: 55.7 per 1,000 live birthsDjibouti55.7Burundi: 54.3 per 1,000 live birthsBurundi54.3Sudan: 54.3 per 1,000 live birthsSudan54.3Angola: 54.2 per 1,000 live birthsAngola54.2Timor-Leste: 53.4 per 1,000 live birthsTimor-Leste53.4Zambia: 52.5 per 1,000 live birthsZambia52.5Ethiopia: 51.5 per 1,000 live birthsEthiopia51.5Uganda: 50.9 per 1,000 live birthsUganda50.9Eswatini: 50.5 per 1,000 live birthsEswatini50.5Malawi: 50.4 per 1,000 live birthsMalawi50.4Gambia: 48.6 per 1,000 live birthsGambia48.6Namibia: 44.8 per 1,000 live birthsNamibia44.8Papua New Guinea: 44.7 per 1,000 live birthsPapua New Guinea44.7Republic of the Congo: 44.5 per 1,000 live birthsRepublic of the Congo44.5
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

RankCountries2020
per 1,000 live births
Change on 2019
1Central African Republic124.2-130.5
2Niger119.5-1.3
3Nigeria117.40
4Somalia114.7-3.7
5Chad110.6-3.4
6Sierra Leone104.4-3.9
7Guinea102.9-2.5
8South Sudan96.70
9Democratic Republic of the Congo92.7+0.5
10Liberia88.3-0.4
11Mali87.6-4.3
12Burkina Faso85.1-3
13Benin84.6-2.4
14Equatorial Guinea77.9-2.8
15Guinea-Bissau76.7-2.8
16Cameroon74.4-2.2
17Côte d’Ivoire73-2.3
18Mozambique67.6-1
19Lesotho66.3-1.8
20Madagascar65.1+0.1
21Togo63.9-2.1
22Pakistan63.7-2.1
23Zimbabwe61.7+3.1
24Afghanistan60.7-2
25Haiti59.8-1.7
26Kiribati58.3-0.8
27Djibouti55.7-1.8
28Burundi54.3-1.9
28Sudan54.3-1.8
30Angola54.2-1.1
31Timor-Leste53.4-1.4
32Zambia52.5-1
33Ethiopia51.5-2.1
34Uganda50.9-0.7
35Eswatini50.5-1
36Malawi50.4-0.9
37Gambia48.6-1.8
38Namibia44.8-1.8
39Papua New Guinea44.7-1.4
40Republic of the Congo44.5-7.7
41Senegal44.2-2
42Tanzania43.8-1.8
43Comoros43.7-1.1
44Yemen43.4-2.7
45Turkmenistan42.9-0.6
46Ghana42.2-1.9
47Kenya42.1-0.6
47Myanmar42.1-1.5
49Mauritania42-1.4
50Rwanda41.6-1.1
51Eritrea39.1-1.4
52Botswana38.9-1.1
53Gabon36.8-1.7
54Laos34.8-1.7
55South Africa33.9-0.4
56Dominica33.8+0.8
56Dominican Republic33.8-0.6
58India33-1.9
59Bangladesh31.4-0.9
60Marshall Islands30.3-0.9
61Tajikistan30.1-0.3
62Nepal29.6-1.4
63Guyana28.6-1
64Philippines280
65Fiji27.2+1.5
66Micronesia25.6-0.8
67Iraq24.9-0.8
68Egypt24.4-0.4
69Venezuela24.20
70Guatemala23.5-0.8
71Algeria22.9-0.4
71Palau22.9-0.1
73Solomon Islands22.5-0.6
74Syria21.9-2.7
74Tuvalu21.9-0.8
76Cambodia21.8-1
77Azerbaijan21.5-1.2
78Bhutan21.3-1.4
79Indonesia20.8-1
79Trinidad and Tobago20.8-0.4
81Vietnam19.5-0.5
82Bolivia19.3-1.3
83Jamaica18.7-0.1
84Grenada18.6+0.1
84Paraguay18.6-0.6
86Morocco18.3-0.8
87Saint Lucia18.1-0.1
87Vanuatu18.10
89Suriname17.9-0.5
90Kyrgyzstan17.8-0.5
90Saint Kitts and Nevis17.8-0.4
92North Korea17.4-0.3
93Honduras17.1-0.6
94Samoa16.7-3.3
95São Tomé and Príncipe16.1-1
96Tunisia16-0.9
97Mauritius15.8+0.1
98Moldova15.6+0.1
99Panama15.5-0.4
100Palestine15.2-0.5
101Lebanon15.1+0.6
101Uzbekistan15.1-0.6
103Brazil14.9-0.1
104Mongolia14.8-0.8
104Seychelles14.80
106Mexico14.6-0.4
107Jordan14.5-0.4
107Peru14.5-0.4
109Nicaragua14.2-0.1
110British Virgin Islands13.8-0.4
111Ecuador13.6-0.2
111Saint Vincent and the Grenadines13.6-0.7
113Bahamas13.3-11
113Cape Verde13.3-0.8
115Belize13.2-0.3
116Colombia13.1-0.4
117Iran13-0.4
118El Salvador11.7-0.5
119Armenia11.6-0.5
120Libya11.2-0.4
121Barbados11.1-0.3
122Nauru10.9-1.1
122Türkiye10.9-0.4
124Oman10.7-0.1
125Tonga10.6-0.3
126Brunei10.4-0.1
127Argentina10.3-0.2
128Antigua and Barbuda10.1-0.2
128Kazakhstan10.1-0.1
128Thailand10.1-0.3
131Albania9.40
131Georgia9.4-0.2
133Costa Rica9.3+0.2
134Kuwait8.8-0.1
135Ukraine8.4-0.1
136Malaysia8.20
137Bahrain8+0.2
138China7.5-0.5
139Uruguay7.3-0.2
140Cuba7.2+0.3
141Maldives6.9-0.5
141Saudi Arabia6.9-0.3
141Sri Lanka6.9-0.3
144Chile6.8-0.2
145Bosnia and Herzegovina6.6-0.1
146Bulgaria6.5-0.2
146Romania6.5-0.3
146United States6.50
149Qatar6.3-0.3
150Malta6-0.1
150North Macedonia6-1.1
152Slovakia5.90
152United Arab Emirates5.9-0.4
154Russia5.7-0.3
155Serbia5.5-0.1
156Turks and Caicos Islands5.3-0.2
157Canada5.20
158New Zealand5.1-0.1
159Croatia4.70
160Poland4.4-0.1
160United Kingdom4.40
162France4.20
163Greece4.10
164Hungary4-0.1
164Netherlands40
164Switzerland40
167Belgium3.90
168Australia3.80
169Denmark3.7-0.1
169Germany3.70
169Lithuania3.7-0.2
172Latvia3.6-0.3
173Ireland3.5+0.1
173Israel3.5-0.1
175Austria3.4-0.1
175Portugal3.4-0.1
177Cyprus3.3+0.3
178Spain3.20
179South Korea3.10
180Italy3-0.1
180Monaco3-0.1
182Andorra2.9-0.1
182Belarus2.9-0.2
182Czechia2.9-0.1
182Montenegro2.9-0.2
186Iceland2.80
187Sweden2.60
188Estonia2.4-0.1
188Finland2.40
188Japan2.4-0.1
188Luxembourg2.40
188Norway2.40
188Singapore2.4-0.1
188Slovenia2.40
195San Marino1.50

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?

The Central African Republic, with 124.2 per 1,000 live births in 2020, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest under-five mortality rate?

San Marino, with 1.5 per 1,000 live births in 2020.

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

Countries: more rankings