Health · India and China
India, China and Indonesia record lows in infant mortality
Updated
Is infant mortality falling in India and China?
Infant mortality has fallen to record lows in India, China and Indonesia, the world's three most populous countries in the region. India's rate fell from 30 to 24 per 1,000 live births between 2019 and 2024. China's fell to 3.8 per 1,000 in 2025.
What happened?
Infant mortality rates have fallen to record lows in India, China and Indonesia, according to Good News Network.
- India: the infant mortality rate fell from 30 per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 24 in 2024. Several states, including lower-income Bihar and higher-income Tamil Nadu, recorded drops of nearly 50%.
- China: in 2025 the infant mortality rate fell to 3.8 per 1,000 live births, and the under-5 mortality rate to 5.4, according to Fu Wei, director of the country’s Department of Maternal and Child Health.
- Indonesia: the infant mortality rate reached a record low of 14 per 1,000 live births in 2024, a 50% fall since 2010, according to World Bank data.
What helped?
In India, the share of births where mothers received medical attention rose from 83% to 95% between 2019 and 2024. In China, public medical insurance covers 95% of the population and includes free medical care for children aged 0 to 6.
What the figures do not show
India’s rate is still more than four times higher than that of the United States, and rates vary widely between states. The report does not give full explanations for the declines.
Sources & reporting notes
We checked Good News Network's report of 29 June 2026. Figures are as reported there, citing China's Department of Maternal and Child Health and the World Bank. The report does not explain the causes in detail beyond the rise in births with medical attention in India and China's free care for young children.
What changed
- Rewrote the article from its cited source and removed process, monitoring and outcome claims the source did not support.
- Good News Network · 29 June 2026
Report of record-low infant mortality in India, China and Indonesia.
Have a correction or a confirmed update? Contact our editorial team.
Common questions
- How much has infant mortality fallen in India?
- India's infant mortality rate fell from 30 per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 24 in 2024, according to Good News Network. Births where mothers received medical attention rose from 83% to 95% over the same period.
- What are China's latest figures?
- In 2025 China's infant mortality rate fell to 3.8 per 1,000 live births and its under-5 mortality rate to 5.4, according to the director of its Department of Maternal and Child Health.