Health Status > Infants

INTERNATIONAL INFANT MORTALITY RATES

Although the United States has substantially reduced its infant mortality rate in recent decades, it was still ranked below many industrialized Nations in 2002 with a rate of 7.0 deaths per 1,000 live births. This represents a slight increase from the rates of 6.9 and 6.8 per 1,000 in 2000 and 2001, respectively, but is well below the rate of 26.0 per 1,000 reported in 1960. Differences in infant mortality rates among industrialized Nations may reflect disparities in the health status of women before and during pregnancy, as well as the quality and accessibility of primary care for pregnant women and their infants. However, some of these differences may, in part, be the result of international variation in the definition, reporting, and measurement of infant mortality.
According to data reported by individual countries, seven industrialized countries or territories had infant mortality rates that were half the rate of the United States or less. Hong Kong had the lowest rate (2.3 per 1,000), followed by Sweden (2.8 per 1,000). Overall, the United States was ranked 28th in the world.

> Horizontal Bar Chart: International Infant Mortality Rates: 2002