Nigeria had the world's highest child mortality rate in 2024: about 116 deaths per 1,000 live births among under-fives

Key Takeaways

  • Nigeria’s under-five mortality rate fell 44% from 1990 to 2024, but only 1.9% since 2015.
  • Niger cut its under-five mortality rate by 67% from 1990 to 2024, reaching 110.7 deaths per 1,000.
  • All ten countries with the highest under-five mortality rates in 2024 were in Africa.
  • Nigeria’s rate was more than three times the global rate of 37.4 deaths per 1,000 in 2024.

In 1990, roughly 208 of every 1,000 children born in Nigeria died before their fifth birthday, the 13th highest rate in the data. By 2024 it had fallen to about 116, a drop of 44%, but Nigeria now has the highest rate because countries like Niger and Sierra Leone cut theirs by more, and its own has barely moved since 2015.

Source:

UNICEF Data Warehouse

Period:

2024
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Three in four girls in Niger got married before 18
  • Niger (76%), the Central African Republic (61%), and Chad (61%) top the global list, meaning the majority of women in these countries marry as children.
  • Seven of the top ten countries by prevalence are African, showing that child marriage is most entrenched relative to population on the continent.
  • Countries in South Asia — Bangladesh (51%) and Nepal (35%) — and Latin America — Suriname (36%) and Belize (34%) — also feature, highlighting the global nature of the challenge.
  • While some countries have larger populations, this list ranks the share of girls affected, not the absolute number, meaning even smaller populations can show extreme societal impact if the prevalence is high.
Of the 138 million children (5-17 years) in child labour globally, nearly 70% are in Africa
  • In 2024, nearly 138 million children globally are still involved in child labour.
  • Africa accounts for 94.5 million (68.7%) of these children — the largest regional share.
  • Four in 5 child labourers under age 12 are based in Africa.
  • The global goal to end child labour by 2025 was not achieved.
  • Child labour has fallen by over 100 million since 2000, despite global child population growth.
Nigeria halved under-5 mortality from 325.2 to 107.2 per 1,000 live births from 1960 to 2022
  • Ghana's under-5 mortality rate at 42.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, still higher than the SDG target of 25 deaths per 1,000 live births.
  • Cape Verde achieved the most dramatic reduction in under-5 mortality rates, cutting its rate by over 93%, from 174.8 in 1960 to 12.3 in 2022, the lowest in West Africa.
  • Sierra Leone had the highest under-5 mortality rate in 1960, at 390.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, marking it as one of the most challenging places for child survival in the region at the time.
  • Liberia experienced a troubling increase in under-5 mortality rates during the 1980s, peaking at 263.8 in 1990, a period marked by civil war and economic instability.
Africa’s share of unregistered children is nearly double that of South Asia and over four times the rest of the world combined
  • 56% (91 million) of unregistered children live in Africa, more than the rest of the world combined.
  • South Asia follows with 32%, while the rest of the world accounts for just 12%.
  • Africa’s share of unregistered children is nearly double that of South Asia and over four times that of the rest of the world.
  • This disparity underscores the urgent need for improved civil registration systems in high-impact regions.
Nigeria ranks 7th in the world for child displacement due to conflict
As of December 2023, 28.6 million internally displaced people affected by conflict were under the age of 18, accounting for 38% of the global IDP population. Conflict-ravaged Sudan has the most internally displaced children globally, with 4.25 million under the age of 18. DR Congo and Syria follow with 3.57 million and 2.65 million displaced children, respectively. Nigeria's 1.65 million displaced children make it the 7th highest globally for child displacement due to conflict.
Africa and Asia most affected by lack of drinking water in children's schools
A recent UNICEF report shows that 293m children worldwide did not have drinking water in their schools in 2023. Six African and four Asian countries make up the top ten, with Ethiopia and Nigeria occupying first and second positions, respectively, with 33.2m and 29m children. The top five countries account for 42% of the total affected population.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved