Under-five mortality rate

What does this indicator tell us?

This indicator is the number of children who die by the age of 5 years, per 1000 live births. It is an indicator for SDG 3: "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages". It is also included in the WHO Global reference list of 100 core health indicators.

How is it defined?

The mortality rate of children aged under 5 years is the probability that a child born in a specific year or period will die before reaching the age of 5 years, subject to the age-specific mortality rates of that period.

What are the consequences and implications?

This indicator is linked to internationally recognized goals for general development standards and children's rights. Similar to the infant mortality rate, the mortality rate of children aged under 5 years is a baseline indicator of how a country is progressing towards assuring children's rights - in particular, their rights to life, health care services, nutrition, water, social security and protection. Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically obliges all States to take appropriate measures to reduce the child death rate.

Source of data

WHO. Global Health Observatory (GHO) data repository. Number of under-five deaths (thousands). Data by country (http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.CM1320N).

Further reading

WHO. Global reference list of 100 core health indicators (plus health-related SDGs). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018 (https://www.who.int/healthinfo/indicators/2018/en/).

Internet resources

WHO. Global health observatory data. Under-five mortality (http://www.who.int/gho/child_health/mortality/mortality_under_five_text/en/).

UN. Global Sustainable Development Goals indicators database (https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/database/).