Mortality rate, neonatal (per 1,000 live births) - Country Ranking

Definition: Neonatal mortality rate is the number of neonates dying before reaching 28 days of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

Source: Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Lesotho 44.30 2020
2 Pakistan 40.40 2020
3 Central African Republic 38.80 2020
4 Somalia 36.80 2020
5 Nigeria 35.50 2020
6 Afghanistan 35.20 2020
7 Guinea-Bissau 35.10 2020
8 Côte d'Ivoire 33.20 2020
9 Chad 32.80 2020
10 Mali 31.60 2020
11 Sierra Leone 31.40 2020
12 Mauritania 31.20 2020
13 Liberia 30.60 2020
14 Djibouti 30.40 2020
15 Dominica 30.00 2020
16 Guinea 29.90 2020
17 Benin 29.70 2020
18 Comoros 29.00 2020
19 Equatorial Guinea 28.70 2020
20 Mozambique 28.30 2020
21 Yemen 28.10 2020
22 Angola 27.30 2020
23 Ethiopia 27.00 2020
24 Dem. Rep. Congo 26.80 2020
24 Sudan 26.80 2020
26 Cameroon 26.20 2020
27 Burkina Faso 25.80 2020
28 Zimbabwe 25.70 2020
28 The Gambia 25.70 2020
30 Haiti 24.80 2020
31 Togo 24.50 2020
32 Niger 24.10 2020
33 Zambia 24.00 2020
34 Turkmenistan 23.50 2020
35 Dominican Republic 23.40 2020
36 Ghana 22.90 2020
37 Myanmar 22.30 2020
38 Botswana 21.90 2020
39 Lao PDR 21.70 2020
40 Papua New Guinea 21.50 2020
41 Kiribati 21.30 2020
42 Burundi 20.90 2020
43 Senegal 20.60 2020
44 Kenya 20.50 2020
45 India 20.30 2020
45 Eswatini 20.30 2020
45 Madagascar 20.30 2020
48 Tanzania 20.10 2020
48 Namibia 20.10 2020
50 Gabon 19.70 2020
51 Timor-Leste 19.40 2020
52 Uganda 19.20 2020
53 Malawi 19.10 2020
54 Congo 18.70 2020
55 Nauru 18.30 2020
56 Rwanda 17.90 2020
57 Eritrea 17.70 2020
58 Bangladesh 17.50 2020
59 Guyana 17.30 2020
60 Nepal 16.90 2020
61 Algeria 16.30 2020
62 Bhutan 15.30 2020
63 Venezuela 14.60 2020
64 Iraq 14.40 2020
65 Tajikistan 14.00 2020
66 Bolivia 13.50 2020
67 Cambodia 13.20 2020
68 St. Lucia 12.90 2020
69 Philippines 12.60 2020
70 Tunisia 11.80 2020
71 Indonesia 11.70 2020
71 Kyrgyz Republic 11.70 2020
73 Fiji 11.60 2020
74 Morocco 11.50 2020
75 Guatemala 11.10 2020
76 Grenada 10.90 2020
76 Suriname 10.90 2020
78 Syrian Arab Republic 10.70 2020
79 Trinidad and Tobago 10.60 2020
79 South Africa 10.60 2020
79 Moldova 10.60 2020
82 Vanuatu 10.50 2020
82 Mauritius 10.50 2020
84 Egypt 10.30 2020
85 Tuvalu 10.10 2020
86 Vietnam 10.00 2020
86 St. Kitts and Nevis 10.00 2020
86 Paraguay 10.00 2020
89 Azerbaijan 9.80 2020
90 Nicaragua 9.40 2020
91 Jamaica 9.30 2020
92 Palau 8.90 2020
92 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 8.90 2020
94 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 8.80 2020
94 Honduras 8.80 2020
94 Jordan 8.80 2020
97 Brazil 8.70 2020
98 Cabo Verde 8.50 2020
99 Seychelles 8.40 2020
99 Mexico 8.40 2020
101 Iran 8.30 2020
102 Barbados 8.10 2020
103 Panama 8.00 2020
104 Mongolia 7.90 2020
105 São Tomé and Principe 7.80 2020
105 Solomon Islands 7.80 2020
105 Albania 7.80 2020
108 Belize 7.70 2020
109 Uzbekistan 7.60 2020
110 Colombia 7.20 2020
111 Ecuador 6.70 2020
111 Samoa 6.70 2020
111 Peru 6.70 2020
114 The Bahamas 6.60 2020
115 El Salvador 6.20 2020
116 Brunei 6.10 2020
117 Libya 6.00 2020
118 Armenia 5.70 2020
119 Costa Rica 5.60 2020
120 Kuwait 5.00 2020
120 Georgia 5.00 2020
120 Tonga 5.00 2020
120 Turkey 5.00 2020
124 Thailand 4.90 2020
124 Oman 4.90 2020
126 Ukraine 4.80 2020
126 Kazakhstan 4.80 2020
128 Malaysia 4.60 2020
128 Argentina 4.60 2020
130 Chile 4.40 2020
131 Malta 4.30 2020
132 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.10 2020
132 Uruguay 4.10 2020
134 Sri Lanka 4.00 2020
134 Lebanon 4.00 2020
136 North Macedonia 3.90 2020
137 Serbia 3.60 2020
137 United Arab Emirates 3.60 2020
139 China 3.50 2020
139 Qatar 3.50 2020
139 Antigua and Barbuda 3.50 2020
139 Romania 3.50 2020
139 Saudi Arabia 3.50 2020
144 United States 3.40 2020
145 Canada 3.20 2020
146 Bulgaria 3.00 2020
146 Croatia 3.00 2020
146 Slovak Republic 3.00 2020
149 Bahrain 2.90 2020
150 Switzerland 2.80 2020
151 United Kingdom 2.70 2020
151 Netherlands 2.70 2020
151 Poland 2.70 2020
154 New Zealand 2.60 2020
154 France 2.60 2020
156 Denmark 2.50 2020
157 Belgium 2.40 2020
157 Greece 2.40 2020
157 Australia 2.40 2020
157 Cuba 2.40 2020
161 Austria 2.30 2020
161 Russia 2.30 2020
161 Latvia 2.30 2020
164 Germany 2.20 2020
165 Hungary 2.10 2020
166 Ireland 2.00 2020
167 Israel 1.90 2020
167 Lithuania 1.90 2020
169 Portugal 1.80 2020
170 Italy 1.70 2020
170 Spain 1.70 2020
170 Luxembourg 1.70 2020
173 Monaco 1.60 2020
173 Czech Republic 1.60 2020
173 Cyprus 1.60 2020
176 Korea 1.50 2020
177 Finland 1.40 2020
177 Sweden 1.40 2020
179 Norway 1.30 2020
179 Andorra 1.30 2020
181 Slovenia 1.20 2020
182 Montenegro 1.10 2020
183 Iceland 1.00 2020
183 Belarus 1.00 2020
185 Estonia 0.90 2020
186 Japan 0.80 2020
186 Singapore 0.80 2020
186 San Marino 0.80 2020

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Development Relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries.

Limitations and Exceptions: 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.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The main sources of mortality data are vital registration systems and direct or indirect estimates based on sample surveys or censuses. A "complete" vital registration system - covering at least 90 percent of vital events in the population - is the best source of age-specific mortality data. Estimates of neonatal, infant, and child mortality tend to vary by source and method for a given time and place. Years for available estimates also vary by country, making comparisons across countries and over time difficult. To make neonatal, infant, and child mortality estimates comparable and to ensure consistency across estimates by different agencies, the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), which comprises the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the United Nations Population Division, and other universities and research institutes, developed and adopted a statistical method that uses all available information to reconcile differences. The method uses statistical models to obtain a best estimate trend line by fitting a country-specific regression model of mortality rates against their reference dates.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development ac