One of the problems the world is facing today is the death of infants at an early age; this article would be discussing the 10 Countries with Lowest Infant Mortality Rates.
Infant Mortality is a term used to describe the death of newborn babies within the first 12 months of their life. The reason behind this problem is diarrhea which may result in acute weight loss – proving fatal at times. Babies often find it hard to fight and resist this situation and end up losing their lives. The problem is particularly alarming in countries that are economically not stable and have a healthcare system, which lacks basic requirements. Do you know that in 2013 alone, about 4.5 million children died within the first 12 months of their life? Most of the developed countries, however, have lowest number of infants dying in the early stage of their lives. Europe is the king when it comes to the rate of infant deaths. European countries have about 5 times lower rates, when compared to the countries in Africa. Countries struggling economically are facing a significant infant mortality problem. It has also been noted that the countries where the mortality rate is already on a lower side have shown a further decline. The risk of deaths in the infants is clearly due to lower birth weight, which is usually caused by poverty, lack of nutrition and other environmental factors. The infants around 3kgs are more resilient & have been shown to have the least number of deaths. The rate of infant mortality gets lower as the amount of space between each birth increases. The gap of 3 years reduces the risk a great deal. At this point you might be interested in finding out which are the healthiest countries, so check out our list of Country-by-Country Life Expectancy: The World’s 15 Healthiest Countries.
Without further ado, we present you with our list of the top 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality rates.
10. Spain
On number ten, from the continent of Europe, Spain stands as one of the countries with the lowest mortality rate per 1000 people. The rate of infant deaths from the year 2010 to 2013, was as low as 4 per 1000 live births which is pretty incredible.
9. France
Staying in Europe, the beautiful France is also amongst our list. According to the information taken out in the year 2014, the rate of infant deaths per 1000 births was around 3.30.
8. Iceland
Number seven on our list of 10 countries with lowest mortality rate is an island situated in the heart of Pacific Ocean, Iceland. According to the information extracted in 2014, the rate of infants ‘death in Iceland was less than 3.20 per 1000 live births.
7. Italy
Italy, another country from Europe, stands at number nine with least number of infant deaths. From 2010 all the way till 2013 the rate of infants’ deaths per 1000 births was around 3.
6. Czech Republic
Situated right in the heart of Europe, Czech Republic is home to 10.52 million people. The country stands at number six in the list and according to the numbers in 2014, the rate of infant mortality was as low as 2.62 per 1000 live births.
5. Sweden
Sweden, one of the most famous countries in Europe with a population of 9.593 million, stands at number 5 in the lowest infant mortality ratings. A study carried out in 2010 came up to the conclusion that there were only 3 infant deaths per 1000 live births. However, there was a substantial drop in the following year with the figure going down to 2 infants’ deaths per 1000 live births. In 2012 and 2013, the rate stayed the same.
4. Singapore
One of the famous islands for tourism, Singapore, is home to 5.399 million people. Standing at number 4 in the list, the country’s infant mortality rate has remained around 2 per 1000 live births from 2010 till 2013.
3. Norway
Yet another Scandinavian country, Norway is home to 5.084 million people. According to the studies carried out in 2010 and 2011, the country’s infant mortality rate per 1000 live births stayed around 3. However, there was a substantial drop in the next couple of years as the same study showed a rate of about 2 infants death per 1000 births.
2. Japan
Japan, an economic giant of Asia has a population 127.3 million. The country stands at number two with its infant mortality rate around 2 from 2010 to 2013.
1. Monaco
Number one in the list of 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate is Monaco. The country’s infant mortality rate is the lowest among all with about 1.8 deaths per 1000 births.
One thing to notice about all these countries is that they are all developed with a healthy and clean environment for the parents as well as their children.
