China: Number of infant deaths

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, China's number of infant deaths fell 10.4% on 2023 (from 40,319 to 36,113).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −9.5% and a typical year strayed about 4.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 7.1% in 1987 and the biggest yearly fall was 21.8% in 2021. 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 13,633 a year. A straight line explains 98% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about -18,280 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 10,339, against 15,777 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, China had the 25th highest value of the 196 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to China in the 2024 ranking

• Madagascar — 22nd of 196: 42,981
• Philippines — 23rd of 196: 39,731
• Cameroon — 24th of 196: 38,551
• Burkina Faso — 26th of 196: 31,762
• Brazil — 27th of 196: 31,647
• Zimbabwe — 28th of 196: 30,713

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 55 values

Number of infant deaths in nearby economies

• Australia — 941 (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 53 (2024)
• Cambodia — 5,873 (2024)
• Fiji — 389 (2024)
• Indonesia — 67,732 (2024)
• Japan — 1,363 (2024)
• Kiribati — 132 (2024)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 4,536 (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — 556 (2024)
• Lao PDR — 4,402 (2024)
• Malaysia — 3,053 (2024)
• Marshall Islands

More health data for China

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 3.25% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 3.46% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 101.3 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 14.67% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 115.41 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 16.12% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 216.72 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 15.41% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.41% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is China's number of infant deaths?

36,113 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 98.61% from 2.6 million in 1970 (7.62% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.6 million in 1970 and the lowest 36,113 in 2024.

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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