This technical report provides the most recent global, regional, and country estimates on child mortality. It finds that the global under-five mortality rate has declined nearly in half since 1990, saving over 90 million lives. However, 6.6 million children still die each year before age five. While most regions have reduced disparities in child mortality between socioeconomic groups, these disparities remain in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Infectious diseases are the leading killers of young children globally. Considerable progress has been made, but accelerated efforts are needed to meet international targets and save more children's lives.

1. • Technical report providing
most recent
country, regional and global
estimates on child mortality
and includes methods
• 2nd annual report on progress
achieved on APR
commitments and includes
more in-depth mortality and
causes of death analysis

2. Great progress in reducing child deaths
• Global U5MR declined by nearly by half, from 90
per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 48 per 1,000 in
2012
• Annual number of under-five deaths reduced
from 12.6 million to 6.6 million over the same
period
• 17,000 fewer children died each day in 2012 than
did in 1990
• Annual < 5 deaths in Ethiopia declined from
around 440,000 per year in 1990 to 205,000 in
2012

3. 26 high mortality countries have reduced
under-five mortality rate by at least 50%
High-mortality
countries with
greatest
percentage
declines
in under-five
mortality rate
from 1990–2012
Source: IGME 2013.

4. Some poor countries have made great
progress in reducing under-five mortality
Source: UNICEF analysis based on IGME 2013 and
World Bank GDP per capita estimates published in 2013.
Decline in under-five mortality rate 1990–2012 and GDP per capita in 2012, by country

5. Exciting new findings on disparities
• Many regions have
reduced disparities in
under-five mortality
between the poorest
and the richest except
Sub-Saharan Africa and
South Asia
• Under-five mortality rate
has declined among
even the poorest in most
regions
Source: UNICEF analysis based on Pedersen, J., et al., Levels and Trends in Inequity
and Child Mortality: Evidence from DHS and MICS surveys', working
paper, unpublished, 2013.'

6. Where are deaths occurring?
Half of the 6.6 million under-five deaths occurred in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Number and % of under-five deaths by region, 2012
(thousands and % of global total)
Half of all child
deaths occur in
just 5 countries:
India, Nigeria, P
akistan, DR
Congo, China
Source: IGME 2013.

7. Children in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia
face a higher risk of dying before their fifth birthday
Source: IGME 2013.

8. Progress in Ethiopia in Context:
Under 5 Mortality Declines and Targets, 1990-2035
250
200
Under 5
MR per
1000 live
births
150
Ethiopia
Somalia
100
Kenya
Brazil
50
0
1990
2012
MDG Target 2015APR Target 2035

9. Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria are
the leading killers of children under age 5; roughly 44% of deaths in
children under 5 occur during the neonatal period
Global distribution of deaths among children under age 5, by cause, 2012
Pneumonia
17%
Neonatal
44%
Other
22%
AIDS
2%
Injury
5%
Malaria
7%
Diarrhoea
9%
Estimates are rounded, and therefore may not sum to 100%.
Source: UNICEF analysis based on IGME 2013, WHO and CHERG 2013.
Globally, nearly
half of all deaths
among children
under 5 are
attributable to
undernutrition

10. Despite declining rates, neonatal deaths are growing as
a share of global under-five deaths, amid faster progress
in reducing mortality in the post-neonatal period

11. 90 million lives saved since 1990 – more than
the current population size of Germany
Number of lives saved since 1990 among children under age 5, and number of lives to be saved
in order to achieve MDG4
Source: UNICEF analysis based on IGME 2013.

12. 90 million lives saved since 1990 – more than
the current population size of Germany
Number of lives saved since 1990 among children under age 5, and number of lives to be saved
in order to achieve MDG4
Source: UNICEF analysis based on IGME 2013.

13. Unfinished business
• Good news
• Outstanding progress in decreasing under five
mortality at global and regional levels
• Even in some of the most disadvantaged countries and
households
• ESAR countries making strong progress
• Ethiopia and Malawi notable front-runners
• Bad news
•
•
•
•
Nearly 6.6 million children still died in 2012
18,000 children under age five died each day
Not likely to reach MDG4 unless accelerate++
World needs examples such as Ethiopia