Sudan: Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Sudan's mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) fell 1.5 on 2023 (from 63.1 to 61.6).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −2.01 and a typical year strayed about 11.28 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above 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 159.5 in 1988 and the biggest yearly fall was 163.8 in 1989. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 8% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Sudan had the 20th 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 Sudan in the 2024 ranking

• Zimbabwe — 17th of 196: 64.7
• Côte d'Ivoire — 18th of 196: 64.5
• Madagascar — 19th of 196: 62.4
• Lesotho — 21st of 196: 60
• Mozambique — 22nd of 196: 59.4
• Togo — 23rd of 196: 56.1

What this measures

Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.

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 Extrapolations based on outdated surveys may not be reliable for monitoring changes in health status or for comparative analytical work.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 weighted average.

All 65 values

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) in nearby economies

• Angola — 49 (2024)
• Benin — 74.7 (2024)
• Botswana — 33.3 (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 74.9 (2024)
• Burundi — 47.1 (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 11.1 (2024)
• Cameroon — 64.8 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 89.7 (2024)
• Chad — 97.3 (2024)
• Comoros — 39 (2024)

More health data for Sudan

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 14.61% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 15.33% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 10.25 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 39.34% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 10.52 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 41.1% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 20.78 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 40.21% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 13.15% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sudan's mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births)?

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

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 65.57% from 178.9 in 1960 (1.65% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 297 in 1988 and the lowest 51 in 2022.

How does Sudan rank?

20th highest of 196 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) unusual for Sudan?

In 2024, Sudan's mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) fell 1.5 on 2023 (from 63.1 to 61.6). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −2.01 and a typical year strayed about 11.28 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.DYN.MORT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), uri: www.childmortality.org, publisher: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, United Nations Population Division; World Health Organization (WHO), uri: www.childmortality.org, note: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estima… 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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