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South Africa — Infant mortality
Infant Mortality Rate for South Africa, 1976–2024.
Latest value · 2024
24.2
Infant Mortality Rate · per 1,000 live births · -77.8% since 1976
Infant mortality for South Africa was 24.2 in 2024, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 49 years, from 1976 to 2024. The highest recorded value was 108.9 in 1976. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -3.08% per year.
South Africa ranks 58 of 196 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 30%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 38.0, so South Africa sits below it. It peaked in 1976 and has fallen 78% since. Over the last decade (2014–2024) the figure moved down 21%.
Key figures
Latest (2024)
24.2
First (1976)
108.9
Change
-77.8%
Highest
108.9
in 1976
Lowest
24.2
in 2024
Average
49.8
Annual growth (CAGR)
-3.08%
Years of data
49
Recent years
| Year | per 1,000 live births |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 24.2 |
| 2023 | 24.3 |
| 2022 | 24.3 |
| 2021 | 24.3 |
| 2020 | 24.5 |
| 2019 | 25.1 |
| 2018 | 25.8 |
| 2017 | 26.8 |
| 2016 | 28 |
| 2015 | 29.3 |
| 2014 | 30.7 |
| 2013 | 32.1 |
Reading this correctly. Number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year. Figures are in per 1,000 live births. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.DYN.IMRT.IN — Infant Mortality Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.