Countries ranked by Infant mortality rate

How it has changed (1960–2024)

See how infant mortality rate has changed across the world’s countries from 1960 to 2024.

• The country ranked first was Yemen (275.9 per 1,000 births) in 1960 and is South Sudan (71.9 per 1,000 births) in 2024. In between, the country ranked first changed 23 times.
• Japan’s infant mortality rate went from 30.4 per 1,000 births in 1960 to 1.8 per 1,000 births in 2024 (down about 94%).
• Japan ranked #111 of 129 countries in 1960 and #188 of 192 in 2024. The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable. Countries with the same value share the same rank.

Key years for Japan and the leading countries in 2024

Country	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020	2024
South Sudan	195.9 per 1,000 births	208.4 per 1,000 births	156.6 per 1,000 births	157.4 per 1,000 births	118.2 per 1,000 births	78.2 per 1,000 births	71.9 per 1,000 births	71.9 per 1,000 births
Nigeria	–	206.6 per 1,000 births	106.5 per 1,000 births	104.7 per 1,000 births	94.9 per 1,000 births	71.1 per 1,000 births	69.5 per 1,000 births	69.8 per 1,000 births
Niger	–	150.3 per 1,000 births	141.3 per 1,000 births	147.7 per 1,000 births	108.3 per 1,000 births	70.9 per 1,000 births	69.1 per 1,000 births	65.6 per 1,000 births
Somalia	–	–	–	106.3 per 1,000 births	103.9 per 1,000 births	112.5 per 1,000 births	72.9 per 1,000 births	65.4 per 1,000 births
Liberia	198.3 per 1,000 births	184.5 per 1,000 births	157.5 per 1,000 births	170.9 per 1,000 births	125.5 per 1,000 births	71.7 per 1,000 births	63.4 per 1,000 births	63.2 per 1,000 births
Japan	30.4 per 1,000 births	13.4 per 1,000 births	7.4 per 1,000 births	4.6 per 1,000 births	3.3 per 1,000 births	2.4 per 1,000 births	1.8 per 1,000 births	1.8 per 1,000 births
Countries with data	129	153	176	192	192	192	192	192

See the full history, year by year