Countries with Lowest Infant Mortality (2026)

San Marino has one of the lowest infant mortality rates at just 1.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. These countries typically have universal healthcare, excellent prenatal care, and high standards of living.

San Marino

1.2 per 1,000

Estonia

1.5 per 1,000

Japan

1.8 per 1,000

Countries with Lowest Infant Mortality - 196 countries ranked by Infant Mortality
Rank	Country	Infant Mortality	Population	Region
1	San Marino	1.2 per 1,000	33,977	Europe
2	Estonia	1.5 per 1,000	1,372,341	Europe
3	Japan	1.8 per 1,000	123,975,371	Asia
4	Belarus	1.8 per 1,000	9,132,629	Europe
5	Slovenia	1.8 per 1,000	2,127,400	Europe
6	Finland	1.9 per 1,000	5,619,911	Europe
7	Luxembourg	1.9 per 1,000	677,012	Europe
8	Montenegro	1.9 per 1,000	623,525	Europe
9	Sweden	2.0 per 1,000	10,569,709	Europe
10	Norway	2.0 per 1,000	5,572,279	Europe
11	Czechia	2.1 per 1,000	10,905,028	Europe
12	Iceland	2.1 per 1,000	386,506	Europe
13	Singapore	2.2 per 1,000	6,036,860	Asia
14	Latvia	2.2 per 1,000	1,866,124	Europe
15	Monaco	2.2 per 1,000	38,631	Europe
16	Italy	2.3 per 1,000	58,952,704	Europe
17	South Korea	2.3 per 1,000	51,751,065	Asia
18	Andorra	2.4 per 1,000	81,938	Europe
19	North Macedonia	2.5 per 1,000	1,824,359	Europe
20	Spain	2.6 per 1,000	48,848,840	Europe
21	Portugal	2.7 per 1,000	10,694,681	Europe
22	Israel	2.7 per 1,000	9,974,400	Asia
23	Austria	2.8 per 1,000	9,177,982	Europe
24	Lithuania	2.8 per 1,000	2,888,278	Europe
25	Turks and Caicos Islands	3.0 per 1,000	46,535	Americas
26	Germany	3.1 per 1,000	83,516,593	Europe
27	Australia	3.1 per 1,000	27,196,812	Oceania
28	Belgium	3.1 per 1,000	11,858,610	Europe
29	Hungary	3.1 per 1,000	9,562,065	Europe
30	Greece	3.2 per 1,000	10,405,134	Europe
31	France	3.4 per 1,000	68,551,653	Europe
32	Netherlands	3.4 per 1,000	17,993,485	Europe
33	Switzerland	3.4 per 1,000	9,005,582	Europe
34	Ireland	3.4 per 1,000	5,395,790	Europe
35	Denmark	3.5 per 1,000	5,976,992	Europe
36	Poland	3.6 per 1,000	36,559,233	Europe
37	United Arab Emirates	3.8 per 1,000	10,986,400	Asia
38	New Zealand	4.0 per 1,000	5,287,500	Oceania
39	China	4.1 per 1,000	1,408,975,000	Asia
40	Russia	4.1 per 1,000	143,533,851	Europe
41	United Kingdom	4.1 per 1,000	69,226,000	Europe
42	Croatia	4.1 per 1,000	3,866,200	Europe
43	Cyprus	4.1 per 1,000	1,358,282	Europe
44	Serbia	4.6 per 1,000	6,586,476	Europe
45	Bulgaria	4.6 per 1,000	6,441,421	Europe
46	Canada	4.7 per 1,000	41,288,599	Americas
47	Saudi Arabia	4.7 per 1,000	35,300,280	Asia
48	Malta	4.7 per 1,000	568,847	Europe
49	Maldives	4.7 per 1,000	527,799	Asia
50	Qatar	4.8 per 1,000	2,857,822	Asia
51	Sri Lanka	5.2 per 1,000	21,916,000	Asia
52	Slovakia	5.3 per 1,000	5,422,069	Europe
53	United States	5.5 per 1,000	340,110,988	Americas
54	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5.5 per 1,000	3,164,253	Europe
55	Chile	5.8 per 1,000	19,764,771	Americas
56	Romania	6.0 per 1,000	19,051,804	Europe
57	Uruguay	6.2 per 1,000	3,386,588	Americas
58	Cuba	6.8 per 1,000	10,979,783	Americas
59	Malaysia	7.0 per 1,000	35,557,673	Asia
60	Kuwait	7.0 per 1,000	4,897,263	Asia
61	Antigua and Barbuda	7.0 per 1,000	93,772	Americas
62	Bahrain	7.3 per 1,000	1,588,670	Asia
63	Kazakhstan	7.4 per 1,000	20,592,571	Asia
64	Georgia	7.5 per 1,000	3,699,557	Asia
65	Ukraine	7.6 per 1,000	37,860,221	Europe
66	Thailand	7.7 per 1,000	71,668,011	Asia
67	Nauru	7.7 per 1,000	11,947	Oceania
68	Tonga	7.8 per 1,000	104,175	Oceania
69	Libya	7.9 per 1,000	7,381,023	Africa
70	Turkey	8.0 per 1,000	85,518,661	Asia
71	Argentina	8.0 per 1,000	45,696,159	Americas
72	Kosovo	8.0 per 1,000	1,594,353	Europe
73	Oman	8.3 per 1,000	5,281,538	Asia
74	Albania	8.3 per 1,000	2,377,128	Europe
75	Armenia	8.5 per 1,000	3,033,500	Asia
76	Brunei	8.6 per 1,000	462,721	Asia
77	El Salvador	8.8 per 1,000	6,338,193	Americas
78	Costa Rica	9.1 per 1,000	5,129,910	Americas
79	Barbados	9.1 per 1,000	282,467	Americas
80	São Tomé and Príncipe	9.2 per 1,000	235,536	Africa
81	Nicaragua	9.4 per 1,000	6,916,140	Americas
82	Tunisia	9.7 per 1,000	12,277,109	Africa
83	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	10.2 per 1,000	100,616	Americas
84	Iran	10.3 per 1,000	91,567,738	Asia
85	Colombia	10.5 per 1,000	52,886,363	Americas
86	Cape Verde	10.6 per 1,000	524,877	Africa
87	Belize	10.8 per 1,000	417,072	Americas
88	Ecuador	10.9 per 1,000	18,135,478	Americas
89	Peru	11.0 per 1,000	34,217,848	Americas
90	Bahamas	11.1 per 1,000	401,283	Americas
91	Mongolia	11.2 per 1,000	3,524,788	Asia
92	British Virgin Islands	11.4 per 1,000	39,471	Americas
93	Vietnam	12.0 per 1,000	100,987,686	Asia
94	Jordan	12.0 per 1,000	11,552,876	Asia
95	Panama	12.0 per 1,000	4,515,577	Americas
96	Mexico	12.1 per 1,000	130,861,007	Americas
97	Brazil	12.3 per 1,000	211,998,573	Americas
98	Samoa	12.3 per 1,000	218,019	Oceania
99	Azerbaijan	12.5 per 1,000	10,202,830	Asia
100	Uzbekistan	12.8 per 1,000	36,361,859	Asia
101	Honduras	12.8 per 1,000	10,825,703	Americas
102	Seychelles	12.9 per 1,000	121,354	Africa
103	North Korea	13.3 per 1,000	26,498,823	Asia
104	Bhutan	13.7 per 1,000	791,524	Asia
105	Mauritius	13.8 per 1,000	1,245,779	Africa
106	Saint Kitts and Nevis	13.9 per 1,000	46,843	Americas
107	Bolivia	14.2 per 1,000	12,413,315	Americas
108	Vanuatu	14.4 per 1,000	327,777	Oceania
109	Paraguay	14.5 per 1,000	6,929,153	Americas
110	Morocco	14.7 per 1,000	38,081,173	Africa
111	Kyrgyzstan	14.8 per 1,000	7,221,868	Asia
112	Suriname	14.8 per 1,000	634,431	Americas
113	Moldova	15.1 per 1,000	2,402,306	Europe
114	Indonesia	15.2 per 1,000	283,487,931	Asia
115	Lebanon	15.3 per 1,000	5,805,962	Asia
116	Saint Lucia	15.8 per 1,000	179,744	Americas
117	Cambodia	16.4 per 1,000	17,638,801	Asia
118	Jamaica	16.4 per 1,000	2,839,175	Americas
119	Solomon Islands	16.4 per 1,000	819,198	Oceania
120	Grenada	16.4 per 1,000	117,207	Americas
121	Tuvalu	16.5 per 1,000	9,646	Oceania
122	Palestine	17.0 per 1,000	5,289,152	Asia
123	Trinidad and Tobago	17.0 per 1,000	1,368,333	Americas
124	Guatemala	17.2 per 1,000	18,406,359	Americas
125	Syria	17.7 per 1,000	24,672,760	Asia
126	Palau	18.6 per 1,000	17,695	Oceania
127	Algeria	19.5 per 1,000	46,814,308	Africa
128	Iraq	20.1 per 1,000	46,042,015	Asia
129	Micronesia	20.3 per 1,000	113,160	Oceania
130	Egypt	20.8 per 1,000	116,538,258	Africa
131	Venezuela	21.2 per 1,000	28,405,543	Americas
132	Philippines	21.7 per 1,000	115,843,670	Asia
133	Nepal	22.2 per 1,000	29,651,054	Asia
134	Marshall Islands	22.7 per 1,000	37,548	Oceania
135	Guyana	23.2 per 1,000	831,087	Americas
136	India	23.3 per 1,000	1,450,935,791	Asia
137	Tajikistan	23.5 per 1,000	10,590,927	Asia
138	Fiji	23.5 per 1,000	928,784	Oceania
139	South Africa	24.2 per 1,000	64,007,187	Africa
140	Bangladesh	24.4 per 1,000	173,562,364	Asia
141	Eritrea	24.7 per 1,000	3,535,603	Africa
142	Gabon	25.9 per 1,000	2,538,952	Africa
143	Republic of the Congo	27.0 per 1,000	6,332,961	Africa
144	Laos	27.2 per 1,000	7,769,819	Asia
145	Ghana	27.5 per 1,000	34,427,414	Africa
146	Dominican Republic	27.7 per 1,000	11,427,557	Americas
147	Tanzania	28.7 per 1,000	68,560,157	Africa
148	Senegal	28.9 per 1,000	18,501,984	Africa
149	Rwanda	29.4 per 1,000	14,256,567	Africa
150	Mauritania	30.2 per 1,000	5,169,395	Africa
151	Turkmenistan	30.4 per 1,000	7,494,498	Asia
152	Burundi	30.5 per 1,000	14,047,786	Africa
153	Papua New Guinea	31.3 per 1,000	10,576,502	Oceania
154	Angola	32.1 per 1,000	37,885,849	Africa
155	Botswana	32.1 per 1,000	2,521,139	Africa
156	Gambia	32.7 per 1,000	2,759,988	Africa
157	Myanmar	32.8 per 1,000	54,500,091	Asia
158	Dominica	33.3 per 1,000	66,205	Americas
159	Yemen	33.8 per 1,000	40,583,164	Asia
160	Kenya	34.2 per 1,000	56,432,944	Africa
161	Ethiopia	34.5 per 1,000	132,059,767	Africa
162	Zambia	34.6 per 1,000	21,314,956	Africa
163	Timor-Leste	34.6 per 1,000	1,400,638	Asia
164	Togo	34.8 per 1,000	9,515,236	Africa
165	Comoros	35.0 per 1,000	866,628	Africa
166	Uganda	35.9 per 1,000	50,015,092	Africa
167	Namibia	36.4 per 1,000	3,030,131	Africa
168	Malawi	38.0 per 1,000	21,655,286	Africa
169	Kiribati	38.8 per 1,000	134,518	Oceania
170	Haiti	39.0 per 1,000	11,772,557	Americas
171	Cameroon	40.2 per 1,000	29,123,744	Africa
172	Guinea-Bissau	42.1 per 1,000	2,201,352	Africa
173	Eswatini	42.2 per 1,000	1,242,822	Africa
174	Sudan	42.9 per 1,000	50,448,963	Africa
175	Madagascar	43.0 per 1,000	31,964,956	Africa
176	Djibouti	43.0 per 1,000	1,168,722	Africa
177	Burkina Faso	43.6 per 1,000	23,548,781	Africa
178	Mozambique	43.7 per 1,000	34,631,766	Africa
179	Ivory Coast	44.8 per 1,000	31,934,230	Africa
180	Benin	45.2 per 1,000	14,462,724	Africa
181	Mali	47.5 per 1,000	24,478,595	Africa
182	Equatorial Guinea	47.6 per 1,000	1,892,516	Africa
183	Pakistan	48.2 per 1,000	251,269,164	Asia
184	Afghanistan	48.3 per 1,000	42,647,492	Asia
185	Sierra Leone	54.6 per 1,000	8,642,022	Africa
186	Chad	56.3 per 1,000	20,299,123	Africa
187	Lesotho	56.3 per 1,000	2,337,423	Africa
188	DR Congo	56.4 per 1,000	109,276,265	Africa
189	Central African Republic	58.8 per 1,000	5,330,690	Africa
190	Guinea	59.8 per 1,000	14,754,785	Africa
191	Zimbabwe	62.4 per 1,000	16,634,373	Africa
192	Liberia	63.2 per 1,000	5,612,817	Africa
193	Somalia	65.4 per 1,000	19,009,151	Africa
194	Niger	65.6 per 1,000	27,032,412	Africa
195	Nigeria	69.8 per 1,000	232,679,478	Africa
196	South Sudan	71.9 per 1,000	11,943,408	Africa

How Have These Countries Achieved Such Low Infant Mortality?

An infant mortality rate under 3 per 1,000 means fewer than 3 babies out of every 1,000 born die before their first birthday. San Marino leads at 1.2 per 1,000.

These countries share key features: universal healthcare with comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care, high rates of skilled birth attendance, strong vaccination coverage, and excellent neonatal intensive care. Nordic countries, Western European nations, and high-income East Asian countries are well-represented.

Ongoing Challenges Even in Low-Mortality Countries

Even among the best-performing countries, disparities within countries — between urban and rural populations, different socioeconomic groups, and ethnic communities — mean that national averages can mask pockets of higher risk.

The dramatic reduction in infant mortality over the past century is one of the greatest achievements in public health. In many of these countries, rates that were above 100 per 1,000 a century ago are now below 5.

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Countries with Lowest Infant Mortality (2026)

San Marino

Estonia

Japan

How Have These Countries Achieved Such Low Infant Mortality?

Ongoing Challenges Even in Low-Mortality Countries

Related Research

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