Countries by Infant Mortality
Complete ranking of 195 countries • per 1,000 live births • Data refreshed May 28, 2026
Leader
South Sudan
Field size
195 countries
Lowest rank
San Marino
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About Infant Mortality Rate Rankings
South Sudan leads all 195 countries in Infant Mortality Rate with a value of 72.6 per 1k births, while San Marino ranks last at 1.40 per 1k births. This represents a 52-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Infant Mortality Rate Measures
Infant deaths before age 1 per 1,000 live births, from World Bank Open Data.
Why This Ranking Matters
Tracking Infant Mortality Rate across countries reveals global population trends, from aging societies in Europe and East Asia to young, rapidly growing populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. These patterns shape labor markets, education systems, pension sustainability, and geopolitical influence for decades to come.
Global Range
Values range from 1.40 per 1k births (San Marino) to 72.6 per 1k births (South Sudan) — a 52-fold difference across 195 countries.
Regional Patterns
African countries dominate this ranking, holding 18 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.
Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 5.00 per 1k births to 29.9 per 1k births. The overall spread from 1.40 per 1k births to 72.6 per 1k births reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
The top of the ranking is competitive: South Sudan and Somalia are separated by only 7%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.
Continental Leaders
Highest Infant Mortality Rate
The 5 strongest Infant Mortality Rate reads.
Lowest Infant Mortality Rate
The 5 lowest Infant Mortality Rate reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from World Bank Open Data, covering 195 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
