It encompasses neonatal mortality and infant mortality (the probability of death in the first year of life).[3]
Reduction of child mortality is reflected in several of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Target 3.2 states that "by 2030, the goal is to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age with all countries aiming to reduce under‑5 mortality to as low as 25 per 1,000 live births."[4]
Child mortality rates have decreased in the last 40 years. Rapid progress has resulted in a significant decline in preventable child deaths since 1990 with the global under-5 mortality rate declining by over half between 1990 and 2016.[3] While in 1990, 12.6 million children under age five died and in 2016, that number fell to 5.6 million children and then in 2020, the global number fell again to 5 million.[3] However, despite advances, there are still 15,000 under-five deaths per day from largely preventable causes.[3] About 80 percent of these occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and just 6 countries account for half of all under-five deaths: China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3] 45% of these children died during the first 28 days of life.[5] Death rates were highest among children under age 1, followed by children ages 15 to 19, 1 to 4 and 5 to 14.[6][7][8]
Child mortality refers to number of child deaths under the age of 5 per 1,000 live births. More specific terms include:
The leading causes of death of children under five include:
There is variation of child mortality around the world. Countries that are in the second or third stage of the Demographic Transition Mode (DTM) have higher rates of child mortality than countries in the fourth or fifth stage. Chad infant mortality is about 96 per 1,000 live births compared to only 2.2 per 1,000 live births in Japan.[9] In 2010, there was a global estimate of 7.6 million child deaths especially in less developed countries and among those, 4.7 million died from infection and disorder.[11] Child mortality is not only caused by infection and disorder, it is also caused by premature birth, birth defect, new born infection, birth complication and diseases like malaria, sepsis, and diarrhea.[12] In less developed countries, malnutrition is the main cause of child mortality.[12] Pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria together are the cause of one out of every three deaths before the age of 5 while nearly half of under-five deaths globally are attributable to under-nutrition.[3]
Global child mortality over time
Child mortality is high in countries where women have many children (high fertility rates). Wealthy countries have lower child mortality rates than poor ones.
Covid-19 and Child Mortality[edit]
Child mortality unlike mortality throughout other ages actually dropped in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. Children were among the lowest group of deaths in the world due to Covid-19. About 3.7 million deaths occurred and only 0.4% of them occurred in adolescents under 20 years of age making about 13,400 deaths in adolescents. Out of that small proportion, 42% occurred in children under the age of 9 years old.[32]