The State of the World's Children 2003
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Tables index > Under-five mortality rankings

Please check against print version of the report to assure accuracy.


The following list ranks countries and territories in descending order of their estimated 2001 under-five mortality rate (U5MR), a critical indicator of the well-being of children. Countries and territories are listed alphabetically in the tables that follow. Note that East Timor officially changed its name to Timor-Leste after these tables were prepared.

Country/Territory Under-5
mortality rate		 Country/Territory Under-5
mortality rate		 Country/Territory Under-5
mortality rate
Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank
Sierra Leone 316 1 South Africa 71 66 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 19 130
Niger 265 2 Kiribati 69 67 Mauritius 19 130
Angola 260 3 Uzbekistan 68 68 Saint Lucia 19 130
Afghanistan 257 4 Namibia 67 69 Sri Lanka 19 130
Liberia 235 5 Marshall Islands 66 70 Yugoslavia 19 130
Mali 231 6 Kyrgyzstan 61 71 Bosnia and Herzegovina 18 136
Somalia 225 7 Guatemala 58 72 Seychelles 17 137
Guinea-Bissau 211 8 Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of 55 73 Bahamas 16 138
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 205 9 Tuvalu 52 74 Bahrain 16 138
Zambia 202 10 Algeria 49 75 Bulgaria 16 138
Chad 200 11 Dominican Republic 47 76 Qatar 16 138
Burkina Faso 197 12 Indonesia 45 77 Uruguay 16 138
Mozambique 197 12 Morocco 44 78 Dominica 15 143
Burundi 190 14 Nicaragua 43 79 Antigua and Barbuda 14 144
Malawi 183 15 Turkey 43 79 Barbados 14 144
Mauritania 183 15 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 42 81 Oman 13 146
Nigeria 183 15 Vanuatu 42 81 Chile 12 147
Rwanda 183 15 Egypt 41 83 Estonia 12 147
Central African Republic 180 19 Belize 40 84 Costa Rica 11 149
Côte d’Ivoire 175 20 China 39 85 Liechtenstein 11 149
Ethiopia 172 21 El Salvador 39 85 Kuwait 10 151
Guinea 169 22 Peru 39 85 Cuba 9 152
Tanzania, United Republic of 165 23 Cape Verde 38 88 Hungary 9 152
Benin 158 24 Honduras 38 88 Lithuania 9 152
Cameroon 155 25 Philippines 38 88 Poland 9 152
Equatorial Guinea 153 26 Viet Nam 38 88 Slovakia 9 152
Swaziland 149 27 Brazil 36 92 United Arab Emirates 9 152
Djibouti 143 28 Armenia 35 93 Croatia 8 158
Togo 141 29 Jordan 33 94 Malaysia 8 158
Cambodia 138 30 Lebanon 32 95 United States 8 158
Senegal 138 30 Moldova, Republic of 32 95 Andorra 7 161
Madagascar 136 32 Suriname 32 95 Canada 7 161
Iraq 133 33 Albania 30 98 United Kingdom 7 161
Lesotho 132 34 Ecuador 30 98 Australia 6 164
Gambia 126 35 Nauru 30 98 Belgium 6 164
Timor-Leste (East Timor) 124 36 Paraguay 30 98 Brunei Darussalam 6 164
Uganda 124 36 Georgia 29 102 Cyprus 6 164
Haiti 123 38 Mexico 29 102 France 6 164
Zimbabwe 123 38 Palau 29 102 Ireland 6 164
Kenya 122 40 Saudi Arabia 28 105 Israel 6 164
Eritrea 111 41 Syrian Arab Republic 28 105 Italy 6 164
Botswana 110 42 Thailand 28 105 Netherlands 6 164
Myanmar 109 43 Tunisia 27 108 New Zealand 6 164
Pakistan 109 43 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 26 109 Portugal 6 164
Congo 108 45 Grenada 25 110 San Marino 6 164
Sudan 107 46 Panama 25 110 Spain 6 164
Yemen 107 46 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 25 110 Switzerland 6 164
Azerbaijan 105 48 Samoa 25 110 Austria 5 178
Ghana 100 49 Micronesia (Federated States of) 24 114 Czech Republic 5 178
Lao People’s Democratic Republic 100 49 Occupied Palestinian Territory 24 114 Finland 5 178
Turkmenistan 99 51 Saint Kitts and Nevis 24 114 Germany 5 178
Bhutan 95 52 Solomon Islands 24 114 Greece 5 178
Papua New Guinea 94 53 Colombia 23 118 Japan 5 178
India 93 54 Cook Islands 23 118 Korea, Republic of 5 178
Nepal 91 55 Venezuela 22 120 Luxembourg 5 178
Gabon 90 56 Fiji 21 121 Malta 5 178
Comoros 79 57 Latvia 21 121 Monaco 5 178
Bangladesh 77 58 Romania 21 121 Slovenia 5 178
Bolivia 77 58 Russian Federation 21 121 Denmark 4 189
Maldives 77 58 Belarus 20 125 Iceland 4 189
Kazakhstan 76 61 Jamaica 20 125 Norway 4 189
Mongolia 76 61 Tonga 20 125 Singapore 4 189
Sao Tome and Principe 74 63 Trinidad and Tobago 20 125 Sweden 3 193
Guyana 72 64 Ukraine 20 125 Holy See no data -
Tajikistan 72 64 Argentina 19 130 Niue no data -