United States — Infant mortality
Infant Mortality Rate for United States, 1960–2024.
Infant mortality for United States was 5.5 in 2024, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1960 to 2024. The highest recorded value was 25.9 in 1960. The lowest was 5.5 in 2019 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -2.39% per year.
United States ranks 143 of 196 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 73%. The median for North America is 5.5, so United States sits level with it. It peaked in 1960 and has fallen 79% since. Over the last decade (2014–2024) the figure moved down 5%. Its sharpest one-year move was down 5% in 1977.
Data highlights
World ranking. Slipped: 118th of 130 in 1960 → 136th of 155 in 1970 → 161st of 179 in 1980 → 171st of 196 in 1990 → 163rd of 196 in 2000 → 153rd of 196 in 2010 → 145th of 196 in 2020 → 143rd of 196 in 2024.
Key figures
Full history — 1960 to 2024
| Year | per 1,000 live births | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5.5 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.5 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5.5 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5.5 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5.5 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5.5 | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 5.6 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5.6 | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 5.7 | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 5.8 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5.8 | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 5.9 | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 6 | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 6.1 | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 6.2 | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 6.4 | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 6.5 | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 6.6 | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 6.7 | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 6.8 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6.8 | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 6.9 | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 7.1 | -1.4% |
| 1999 | 7.2 | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 7.3 | -2.7% |
| 1997 | 7.5 | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 7.7 | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 7.9 | -3.7% |
| 1994 | 8.2 | -3.5% |
| 1993 | 8.5 | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 8.8 | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 9.1 | -3.2% |
| 1990 | 9.4 | -3.1% |
| 1989 | 9.7 | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 9.9 | -2.0% |
| 1987 | 10.1 | -2.9% |
| 1986 | 10.4 | -1.9% |
| 1985 | 10.6 | -2.8% |
| 1984 | 10.9 | -2.7% |
| 1983 | 11.2 | -3.4% |
| 1982 | 11.6 | -4.1% |
| 1981 | 12.1 | -4.0% |
| 1980 | 12.6 | -3.8% |
| 1979 | 13.1 | -5.1% |
| 1978 | 13.8 | -4.2% |
| 1977 | 14.4 | -5.3% |
| 1976 | 15.2 | -4.4% |
| 1975 | 15.9 | -4.8% |
| 1974 | 16.7 | -4.6% |
| 1973 | 17.5 | -4.4% |
| 1972 | 18.3 | -4.2% |
| 1971 | 19.1 | -4.0% |
| 1970 | 19.9 | -3.9% |
| 1969 | 20.7 | -3.3% |
| 1968 | 21.4 | -3.2% |
| 1967 | 22.1 | -2.6% |
| 1966 | 22.7 | -2.6% |
| 1965 | 23.3 | -2.5% |
| 1964 | 23.9 | -2.0% |
| 1963 | 24.4 | -2.4% |
| 1962 | 25 | -2.0% |
| 1961 | 25.5 | -1.5% |
| 1960 | 25.9 | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was United States’s Infant mortality in 1961?
25.5 (1961). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are United States’s Infant mortality figures nominal or inflation-adjusted?
They are exactly as the World Bank publishes them — per 1,000 live births — with no inflation restatement and no PPP conversion. Years the source does not report are omitted rather than interpolated.
Is United States’s Infant mortality growing or shrinking?
Between 1960 and 2024 the series was shrinking overall: -78.8% in total — about 2.4% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SP.DYN.IMRT.IN. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2024: 5.5; 2023: 5.5; 2022: 5.5; 2021: 5.5; 2020: 5.5. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
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.