Levels and trends in child mortality 2020

Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency group for child mortality estimation

After the government of Afghanistan announced the reopening of activities, Rahila, seven years old, came to the park to play with her father after four months of quarantine.
UNICEF/UNI358971/Fazel

Highlights

While the extent and severity of the mortality impact of COVID-19 on children and youth is still unknown, the potential of a mortality crisis in 2020 threatens years of remarkable improvement and progress.

The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) produces estimates of child and young adolescent mortality annually, reconciling differences across data sources and considering the systematic biases associated with the various types of data on child and adolescent mortality.

This report presents the latest estimates – through 2019 – of neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality, mortality among older children and young adolescents aged 5–14 and older adolescents and youth aged 15–24.

The estimates and analysis presented in this report provide the foundation for monitoring changes in mortality, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which itself serves as a call for further disaggregated data as evidence of the differential impact of the virus emerges.


Please contact: data@unicef.org

UN-IGME-child-mortality-report-2020-cover
Author(s)
UNICEF, WHO, World Bank Group and United Nations
Publication date
Languages
English

Files available for download