Charts / Demographics
Under-5 deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa fell from 178.5 to 71.6 per 1,000 live births, 1990 to 2024
The under-5 mortality rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has dropped by about 60 percent since 1990, one of the clearest good-news trends in African demographics.
Updated October 2026 · Data year 1990 to 2024
Figure 1
The under-5 mortality rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has dropped by about 60 percent since 1990, one of the clearest good-news trends in African demographics.
71.6
2024 · deaths per 1,000 live births
Source: World Bank, World Health Organization · 1990 to 2024 · Figures for 1990 to 2023 are World Bank regional estimates (indicator SH.DYN.MORT, Sub-Saharan Africa, all income levels, drawn from UN IGME). The 2024 point is from the WHO fact sheet based on the UN IGME 2025 report.
In 1990 about 179 of every 1,000 children born in Sub-Saharan Africa died before their fifth birthday. By 2024 that figure was 71.6, a fall of roughly 60 percent [S1][S2]. The decline was steepest in the 2000s and has continued, though more slowly, since 2015. The honest caveat is twofold. The rate is still the highest of any world region and far above the global average of 37.4 in 2024, and progress has slowed. Sub-Saharan Africa still accounted for 58 percent of the world's 4.9 million under-5 deaths in 2024 [S2].
Takeaways
- The rate fell from 178.5 in 1990 to 71.6 in 2024, about a 60 percent drop.
- Decline was fastest in the 2000s and has slowed since 2015.
- The region still has the world's highest under-5 mortality, above the 37.4 global average in 2024.
Sources
- TIER A World Bank, Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births), Sub-Saharan Africa (SH.DYN.MORT) (2023). https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/SSF/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT?format=json&date=1990:2023
Time series 1990 to 2023 for Sub-Saharan Africa, derived from UN IGME estimates. - TIER A World Health Organization, Child mortality (under 5 years) fact sheet (2024). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/children-reducing-mortality
2024 figures: Sub-Saharan Africa under-5 rate 71.6, global rate 37.4, 4.9 million total under-5 deaths, 58 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa.