Arab World: Number of infant deaths

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Arab World's number of infant deaths fell 1.9% on 2023 (from 306,091 to 300,269).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.5% and a typical year strayed about 5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 17% in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.5% in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 4,482 a year. A straight line explains 85% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Number of infants dying before reaching one year of age.

Limitations: Complete vital registration systems are fairly uncommon in developing countries. Thus estimates must be obtained from sample surveys or derived by applying indirect estimation techniques to registration, census, or survey data. Survey data are subject to recall error, and surveys estimating infant/child deaths require large samples because households in which a birth has occurred during a given year cannot ordinarily be preselected for sampling. Indirect estimates rely on model life tables that may be inappropriate for the population concerned. Extrapolations based on outdated surveys may not be reliable for monitoring changes in health status or for comparative analytical work.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 35 values

Number of infant deaths in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 70,975 (2024)
• Algeria — 17,336 (2024)
• Bahrain — 142 (2024)
• Djibouti — 1,033 (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 50,279 (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 11,969 (2024)
• Iraq — 23,456 (2024)
• Israel — 457 (2024)
• Jordan — 2,815 (2024)
• Kuwait — 342 (2024)
• Lebanon — 1,414 (2024)
• Libya

More health data for Arab World

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 11.06% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 10.76% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 78.75 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 32.43% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 82.14 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 31.52% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 160.89 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 31.96% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 10.84% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Arab World's number of infant deaths?

300,269 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 39.69% from 497,877 in 1990 (1.48% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 521,652 in 1991 and the lowest 300,269 in 2024.

Is the latest change in number of infant deaths unusual for Arab World?

In 2024, Arab World's number of infant deaths fell 1.9% on 2023 (from 306,091 to 300,269). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.5% and a typical year strayed about 5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), uri: www.childmortality.org; World Health Organization (WHO), uri: www.childmortality.org, note: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation; World Bank (WB), uri: www.childmortality.org, note: UN Inter-agenc….

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.DTH.IMRT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), uri: www.childmortality.org; World Health Organization (WHO), uri: www.childmortality.org, note: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation; World Bank (WB), uri: www.childmortality.org, note: UN Inter-agenc… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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