While Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia bear the largest burden, countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic often see the highest rates of child deaths (under-5) per live birth, reflecting extreme poverty, conflict, and lack of healthcare, though Nigeria and Niger also rank high in mortality rates and total numbers, with recent Gaza conflict data also showing devastating child loss.
Countries with the highest child mortality rates worldwide 2023. All countries of the 20 countries worldwide with the highest number of children under the age of five dying per 1,000 live births were found in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia topping the list.
Globally, infectious diseases, including pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, remain a leading cause of under-five deaths, along with preterm birth and intrapartum-related complications. The global under-five mortality rate declined by 61 per cent, from 94 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 37 in 2023.
Accidents account for nearly one-half of all teenage deaths. As a category of accidents, motor vehicle fatality is the leading cause of death to teenagers, representing over one-third of all deaths. Among teenagers, non-Hispanic black males have the highest death rate (94.1 deaths per 100,000 population).
Finally, children continue to face tragically differing chances of survival based on where they are born. In fact, two regions, sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, account for more than 80% of the 4.9 million under-5 deaths in 2022.
The information below is from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Accidents (unintentional injuries) are, by far, the leading cause of death among children and teens.
Deaths exceed births in most counties of Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, as well as in Sweden and the Baltic states. Further south, natural decrease is also occur- ring in the majority of the counties of Greece, Portugal, and Italy.
The number one killer in the world is cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart disease and stroke, responsible for about one-third of all global deaths, claiming nearly 18-20 million lives annually, and remains the leading cause across all regions, according to WHO and World Heart Federation. While COVID-19 caused significant deaths in recent years, CVD has consistently held the top spot for decades, with increases seen globally, especially in younger populations.
The leading cause of death in teens: Accidents. Over 30% of teenage and child deaths result from unintentional injury. However, this statistic may be further separated and refined into subcategories. Suicide and homicide are the second cause of death in teens.
They analyzed data from the WONDER database and found that in 2023, 11,368 Zoomers (people born between 1997 and 2012) were killed by firearms — more than died from overdoses, car accidents and cancer. And guns have been Gen Z's leading cause of death since 2017, their analysis found.
Since 1990, the global under-5 mortality rate has dropped by 59%, from 93 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 36 in 2020. This is equivalent to 1 in 11 children dying before reaching age 5 in 1990 compared to 1 in 27 in 2019.
Accidents (unintentional injuries) Homicide. Suicide.
Eight children died in the 9/11 attacks, all as passengers on the hijacked planes (American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 175), with the youngest being 2-year-old Christine Lee Hanson. These children were among the nearly 3,000 total victims and were on family trips when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, making them the youngest victims of the day, as the youngest adult victim was 17.
Infant mortality rates are often used as an indicator of the health and well-being of a nation. Monaco, Iceland, and Japan are among the top three countries with the lowest infant mortality rates with around 2 infant deaths per 1,000 infants within their first year of life.
In the 1800s, up to 30% of children died before their first birthday, and 43% did not survive past their fifth birthday. If the child lived to ten, they still only had a 60% chance of surviving to adulthood.
Many people find it hard to believe the U.S. performs poorly on most measures of health compared to other high-income countries. But the truth is, study after study supports the same two conclusions: The U.S. spends more on health care but has worse health outcomes than comparable countries around the globe.
Most teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Getting the right amount of sleep is important for anyone who wants to do well on a test or play their best in sports. Unfortunately, many teens don't get enough sleep.
In the final episode of Adolescence, Jamie tells his father he wants to plead guilty to murdering Katie.
The 10 leading causes of death in 2023 in ranked order were: Diseases of heart; Malignant neoplasms; Accidents (unintentional injuries); Cerebrovascular diseases; Chronic lower respiratory diseases; Alzheimer disease; Diabetes mellitus; Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis; Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis; ...
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is often called the "silent killer" for good reason.
Taken together, heart diseases and cancers are the cause of every second death. In red are infectious diseases, which are responsible for around 1-in-7 deaths. These include pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. A smaller share – around 4% – was from neonatal and maternal deaths.
Death rate, per 1000 people, 2022:
The average for 2022 based on 196 countries was 8.24 deaths per 1000 people. The highest value was in the Central African Republic: 55.13 deaths per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Qatar: 0.93 deaths per 1000 people.
All figures are estimates. In 2024, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.11 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country.
From 2010 through 2019, the number of births was 47% greater on average than the number of deaths; from 2020 through 2023, the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by an average of 10%, with the difference of births minus deaths increasing each year.