Global Infant Mortality Rates Dropped by Nearly a Quarter Between 2005 and 2013

According to data collated by the World Bank, infant mortality dropped by nearly a quarter between 2005 and 2013.

The stats measure the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year. As you can see from the graph below (the original is a bit clearer) the global average has dropped form just over 44 deaths per 1,000 live births to 33.6 deaths per 1,000 liver births in just 8 short years:

Source: World Bank

Actually, if you delve into the raw data, you can see that data goes back as far as 1960, where the average tragically calculated as a over 104 deaths per 1000 live births. So the longer term picture is an even more dramatic improvement.

The mortality rate in the first five years of live is just as encouraging, dropping from 62.7 to 45.6 in the same period:

Source: World Bank

The average five year mortality rate in 1960 calculated at an even more tragic 169 per 100 births! So that's an even more amazing improvement.

The stats don't reveal the reasons for this, but it's likely that some of the other trends they are tracking play a part, including percentage of pregnant women receiving prenatal care, the increasing number of births attended by skilled staff, improving immunisation and better sanitation than in years gone by.