Top 10 · health
Top 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality
Deaths before age one per 1,000 live births. World Bank / UN IGME data, latest year 2024, covering 193 countries.
The top 10
1st of 193 · 2024
San Marino1.2 per 1k births
- 2ndEstonia1.5 per 1k births
- 3rdBelarus1.8 per 1k births
- 3rdJapan1.8 per 1k births
- 3rdSlovenia1.8 per 1k births
- 6thFinland1.9 per 1k births
- 6thLuxembourg1.9 per 1k births
- 6thMontenegro1.9 per 1k births
- 9thNorway2 per 1k births
- 9thSweden2 per 1k births
The other end · bottom 5 of 193
- 189thLiberia63.2 per 1k births
- 190thSomalia65.4 per 1k births
- 191stNiger65.6 per 1k births
- 192ndNigeria69.8 per 1k births
- 193rdSouth Sudan71.9 per 1k births
Where the big countries land
- 52ndUnited States5.5 per 1k births
- 38thChina4.1 per 1k births
- 133rdIndia23.3 per 1k births
- 25thGermany3.1 per 1k births
- 95thBrazil12.3 per 1k births
Common questions
Questions people ask about infant mortality
Which country has the lowest infant mortality?
San Marino ranks 1st of 193 countries at 1.2 per 1k births (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN IGME.
Which countries are in the top 10 for infant mortality?
The top 10 are San Marino, Estonia, Belarus, Japan, Slovenia, Finland, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Norway and Sweden — computed from World Bank / UN IGME data, latest year 2024.
Where does the United States rank in infant mortality?
The United States ranks 52nd of 193 countries at 5.5 per 1k births (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN IGME.
What is the median infant mortality worldwide?
Across the 193 countries covered, the median is 12.5 per 1k births. Values run from 1.2 per 1k births (San Marino, ranked 1st) to 71.9 per 1k births (South Sudan, ranked 193rd).
Is infant mortality higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 44 European countries is 3.1 per 1k births, against 5.5 per 1k births in the United States — it is higher in the US. Source: World Bank / UN IGME.
Which country has the highest infant mortality?
South Sudan sits at the other end of the list: 71.9 per 1k births ranks 193rd of 193 (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN IGME.
Keep ranking
Keep exploring
More on health
- Life expectancyPeriod life expectancy at birth.
- Health coverageShare of population with health insurance or public coverage.
- Drug deathsDrug overdose deaths per 100,000 population.
- ObesityShare of adults with BMI ≥ 30.
- Suicide rateDeaths by intentional self-harm per 100,000 population.
- HappinessSelf-reported life satisfaction (Cantril ladder, 0–10), World Happiness Report.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
San Marino leads on infant mortality — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data? · Census, BEA, CDC, BLS: why US state data is unusually good
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →