Countries with Lowest Infant Mortality (2026)
San Marino has one of the lowest infant mortality rates at just 1.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. These countries typically have universal healthcare, excellent prenatal care, and high standards of living.
| Rank | Country | Infant Mortality |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  San Marino | 1.4 per 1,000 |
| 2 |  Estonia | 1.6 per 1,000 |
| 3 |  Singapore | 1.7 per 1,000 |
| 4 |  Japan | 1.8 per 1,000 |
| 5 |  Finland | 1.8 per 1,000 |
| 6 |  Slovenia | 1.8 per 1,000 |
| 7 |  Belarus | 1.9 per 1,000 |
| 8 |  Norway | 1.9 per 1,000 |
| 9 |  Iceland | 1.9 per 1,000 |
| 10 |  Sweden | 2.0 per 1,000 |
| 11 |  Luxembourg | 2.0 per 1,000 |
| 12 |  Czechia | 2.1 per 1,000 |
| 13 |  Montenegro | 2.1 per 1,000 |
| 14 |  Italy | 2.3 per 1,000 |
| 15 |  South Korea | 2.3 per 1,000 |
| 16 |  Monaco | 2.3 per 1,000 |
| 17 |  Latvia | 2.5 per 1,000 |
| 18 |  Andorra | 2.5 per 1,000 |
| 19 |  Spain | 2.6 per 1,000 |
| 20 |  Portugal | 2.6 per 1,000 |
| 21 |  Austria | 2.6 per 1,000 |
| 22 |  Israel | 2.7 per 1,000 |
| 23 |  Lithuania | 2.8 per 1,000 |
| 24 |  North Macedonia | 2.8 per 1,000 |
| 25 |  Cyprus | 2.9 per 1,000 |
| 26 |  Belgium | 3.0 per 1,000 |
| 27 |  Denmark | 3.0 per 1,000 |
| 28 |  Germany | 3.1 per 1,000 |
| 29 |  Australia | 3.1 per 1,000 |
| 30 |  Greece | 3.2 per 1,000 |
| 31 |  Hungary | 3.2 per 1,000 |
| 32 |  France | 3.4 per 1,000 |
| 33 |  Ireland | 3.4 per 1,000 |
| 34 |  Netherlands | 3.5 per 1,000 |
| 35 |  Switzerland | 3.5 per 1,000 |
| 36 |  Russia | 3.7 per 1,000 |
| 37 |  Poland | 3.7 per 1,000 |
| 38 |  Croatia | 3.9 per 1,000 |
| 39 |  United Kingdom | 4.0 per 1,000 |
| 40 |  United Arab Emirates | 4.0 per 1,000 |
| 41 |  New Zealand | 4.0 per 1,000 |
| 42 |  Turks and Caicos Islands | 4.0 per 1,000 |
| 43 |  Canada | 4.4 per 1,000 |
| 44 |  China | 4.5 per 1,000 |
| 45 |  Serbia | 4.5 per 1,000 |
| 46 |  Malta | 4.8 per 1,000 |
| 47 |  Saudi Arabia | 4.9 per 1,000 |
| 48 |  Qatar | 4.9 per 1,000 |
| 49 |  Bulgaria | 5.0 per 1,000 |
| 50 |  Maldives | 5.0 per 1,000 |
| 51 |  Slovakia | 5.1 per 1,000 |
| 52 |  Sri Lanka | 5.3 per 1,000 |
| 53 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5.3 per 1,000 |
| 54 |  Romania | 5.4 per 1,000 |
| 55 |  United States | 5.5 per 1,000 |
| 56 |  Uruguay | 5.5 per 1,000 |
| 57 |  Chile | 6.2 per 1,000 |
| 58 |  Cuba | 6.6 per 1,000 |
| 59 |  Malaysia | 6.8 per 1,000 |
| 60 |  Bahrain | 7.2 per 1,000 |
| 61 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 7.3 per 1,000 |
| 62 |  Kazakhstan | 7.6 per 1,000 |
| 63 |  Kuwait | 7.6 per 1,000 |
| 64 |  Ukraine | 7.8 per 1,000 |
| 65 |  Thailand | 8.0 per 1,000 |
| 66 |  Georgia | 8.0 per 1,000 |
| 67 |  Tonga | 8.0 per 1,000 |
| 68 |  Argentina | 8.2 per 1,000 |
| 69 |  Brunei | 8.2 per 1,000 |
| 70 |  Albania | 8.3 per 1,000 |
| 71 |  Kosovo | 8.3 per 1,000 |
| 72 |  Nauru | 8.3 per 1,000 |
| 73 |  Oman | 8.4 per 1,000 |
| 74 |  Armenia | 8.9 per 1,000 |
| 75 |  Turkey | 9.1 per 1,000 |
| 76 |  El Salvador | 9.2 per 1,000 |
| 77 |  Costa Rica | 9.2 per 1,000 |
| 78 |  Barbados | 9.3 per 1,000 |
| 79 |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 9.4 per 1,000 |
| 80 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 9.9 per 1,000 |
| 81 |  Nicaragua | 10.3 per 1,000 |
| 82 |  Tunisia | 10.6 per 1,000 |
| 83 |  Panama | 10.6 per 1,000 |
| 84 |  Iran | 10.7 per 1,000 |
| 85 |  Mexico | 10.8 per 1,000 |
| 86 |  Belize | 10.8 per 1,000 |
| 87 |  Colombia | 10.9 per 1,000 |
| 88 |  Cape Verde | 11.0 per 1,000 |
| 89 |  Ecuador | 11.1 per 1,000 |
| 90 |  Mongolia | 11.4 per 1,000 |
| 91 |  Bahamas | 11.4 per 1,000 |
| 92 |  British Virgin Islands | 11.6 per 1,000 |
| 93 |  Jordan | 12.2 per 1,000 |
| 94 |  Brazil | 12.5 per 1,000 |
| 95 |  Uzbekistan | 12.7 per 1,000 |
| 96 |  Samoa | 12.8 per 1,000 |
| 97 |  Seychelles | 13.1 per 1,000 |
| 98 |  Honduras | 13.3 per 1,000 |
| 99 |  Azerbaijan | 13.3 per 1,000 |
| 100 |  Peru | 13.5 per 1,000 |
| 101 |  Moldova | 13.5 per 1,000 |
| 102 |  Mauritius | 13.5 per 1,000 |
| 103 |  Vietnam | 14.0 per 1,000 |
| 104 |  Vanuatu | 14.2 per 1,000 |
| 105 |  Palestine | 14.3 per 1,000 |
| 106 |  Saint Lucia | 14.3 per 1,000 |
| 107 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | 14.3 per 1,000 |
| 108 |  North Korea | 14.5 per 1,000 |
| 109 |  Kyrgyzstan | 14.9 per 1,000 |
| 110 |  Paraguay | 15.1 per 1,000 |
| 111 |  Suriname | 15.2 per 1,000 |
| 112 |  Morocco | 15.5 per 1,000 |
| 113 |  Libya | 15.9 per 1,000 |
| 114 |  Lebanon | 16.0 per 1,000 |
| 115 |  Egypt | 16.1 per 1,000 |
| 116 |  Solomon Islands | 16.5 per 1,000 |
| 117 |  Grenada | 16.7 per 1,000 |
| 118 |  Indonesia | 17.0 per 1,000 |
| 119 |  Tuvalu | 17.1 per 1,000 |
| 120 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 17.2 per 1,000 |
| 121 |  Guatemala | 17.9 per 1,000 |
| 122 |  Jamaica | 18.3 per 1,000 |
| 123 |  Bhutan | 18.5 per 1,000 |
| 124 |  Syria | 19.0 per 1,000 |
| 125 |  Palau | 19.1 per 1,000 |
| 126 |  Algeria | 19.7 per 1,000 |
| 127 |  Bolivia | 20.0 per 1,000 |
| 128 |  Cambodia | 20.3 per 1,000 |
| 129 |  Iraq | 20.8 per 1,000 |
| 130 |  Micronesia | 20.8 per 1,000 |
| 131 |  Venezuela | 21.5 per 1,000 |
| 132 |  Philippines | 22.1 per 1,000 |
| 133 |  Tajikistan | 22.9 per 1,000 |
| 134 |  Nepal | 23.3 per 1,000 |
| 135 |  Marshall Islands | 23.5 per 1,000 |
| 136 |  Fiji | 23.8 per 1,000 |
| 137 |  Guyana | 23.8 per 1,000 |
| 138 |  Bangladesh | 24.4 per 1,000 |
| 139 |  South Africa | 24.4 per 1,000 |
| 140 |  India | 24.5 per 1,000 |
| 141 |  Eritrea | 25.5 per 1,000 |
| 142 |  Gabon | 26.5 per 1,000 |
| 143 |  Uganda | 27.6 per 1,000 |
| 144 |  Republic of the Congo | 27.6 per 1,000 |
| 145 |  Ghana | 28.2 per 1,000 |
| 146 |  Dominican Republic | 28.4 per 1,000 |
| 147 |  Malawi | 29.4 per 1,000 |
| 148 |  Tanzania | 29.9 per 1,000 |
| 149 |  Senegal | 30.2 per 1,000 |
| 150 |  Rwanda | 30.5 per 1,000 |
| 151 |  Zambia | 30.9 per 1,000 |
| 152 |  Mauritania | 31.0 per 1,000 |
| 153 |  Turkmenistan | 31.2 per 1,000 |
| 154 |  Burundi | 31.5 per 1,000 |
| 155 |  Papua New Guinea | 32.0 per 1,000 |
| 156 |  Dominica | 33.1 per 1,000 |
| 157 |  Gambia | 33.8 per 1,000 |
| 158 |  Myanmar | 34.1 per 1,000 |
| 159 |  Kenya | 34.7 per 1,000 |
| 160 |  Yemen | 34.7 per 1,000 |
| 161 |  Laos | 35.2 per 1,000 |
| 162 |  Ethiopia | 35.7 per 1,000 |
| 163 |  Comoros | 35.7 per 1,000 |
| 164 |  Togo | 35.9 per 1,000 |
| 165 |  Timor-Leste | 35.9 per 1,000 |
| 166 |  Botswana | 38.2 per 1,000 |
| 167 |  Angola | 38.3 per 1,000 |
| 168 |  Namibia | 38.4 per 1,000 |
| 169 |  Sudan | 39.2 per 1,000 |
| 170 |  Kiribati | 39.7 per 1,000 |
| 171 |  Haiti | 40.3 per 1,000 |
| 172 |  Zimbabwe | 40.6 per 1,000 |
| 173 |  Cameroon | 41.2 per 1,000 |
| 174 |  Guinea-Bissau | 43.1 per 1,000 |
| 175 |  Eswatini | 43.5 per 1,000 |
| 176 |  Madagascar | 44.2 per 1,000 |
| 177 |  Djibouti | 44.4 per 1,000 |
| 178 |  DR Congo | 44.5 per 1,000 |
| 179 |  Burkina Faso | 44.8 per 1,000 |
| 180 |  Mozambique | 45.4 per 1,000 |
| 181 |  Benin | 46.4 per 1,000 |
| 182 |  Ivory Coast | 46.6 per 1,000 |
| 183 |  Equatorial Guinea | 49.1 per 1,000 |
| 184 |  Pakistan | 50.1 per 1,000 |
| 185 |  Afghanistan | 50.4 per 1,000 |
| 186 |  Liberia | 52.6 per 1,000 |
| 187 |  Lesotho | 55.4 per 1,000 |
| 188 |  Sierra Leone | 56.2 per 1,000 |
| 189 |  Mali | 57.6 per 1,000 |
| 190 |  Chad | 58.7 per 1,000 |
| 191 |  Nigeria | 60.1 per 1,000 |
| 192 |  Central African Republic | 60.4 per 1,000 |
| 193 |  Guinea | 61.5 per 1,000 |
| 194 |  Niger | 67.4 per 1,000 |
| 195 |  Somalia | 67.8 per 1,000 |
| 196 |  South Sudan | 72.6 per 1,000 |
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 1.4 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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