The infant mortality rate in China, for children under the age of one year old, was approximately 195 deaths per thousand births in 1950. This means that for all babies born in 1950, almost one in five did not survive past their first birthday. This rate fell to just under 130 deaths in 1955, before increasing slightly in the next decade, as Chairman Mao Zedong's 'Great Leap Forward' failed to industrialize the country and created a famine that killed millions of people. Over the past half century, China's infant mortality rate has decreased gradually to just ten deaths per thousand births today.
Infant mortality rate (under one year old) in China from 1950 to 2020*
* All data given is an average of annual data from the preceding five year period.
UN data used from 1955 onwards. Data prior to 1955 can be found here.
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UN DESA, & Gapminder. (June 17, 2019). Infant mortality rate (under one year old) in China from 1950 to 2020* [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved September 01, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042745/china-all-time-infant-mortality-rate/
UN DESA, und Gapminder. "Infant mortality rate (under one year old) in China from 1950 to 2020*." Chart. June 17, 2019. Statista. Accessed September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042745/china-all-time-infant-mortality-rate/
UN DESA, Gapminder. (2019). Infant mortality rate (under one year old) in China from 1950 to 2020*. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042745/china-all-time-infant-mortality-rate/
UN DESA, and Gapminder. "Infant Mortality Rate (under One Year Old) in China from 1950 to 2020*." Statista, Statista Inc., 17 Jun 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042745/china-all-time-infant-mortality-rate/
UN DESA & Gapminder, Infant mortality rate (under one year old) in China from 1950 to 2020* Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042745/china-all-time-infant-mortality-rate/ (last visited September 01, 2024)
Infant mortality rate (under one year old) in China from 1950 to 2020* [Graph], UN DESA, & Gapminder, June 17, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1042745/china-all-time-infant-mortality-rate/