2024-09-01 · people
One in twenty-five children still die before age five
Global child mortality has plunged — but the remaining burden is not evenly spread.
One in twenty-five children worldwide still dies before age five. UN IGME's 2024 estimates put global under-five mortality at about 4%, meaning 96% of children now survive past their fifth birthday after decades of progress. But the remaining burden is not evenly spread: a child's odds of reaching age five still depend heavily on where they are born.
1 cell = 8.2 million people (0.1% of world population) · 1,000 cells
Context
The figures come from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), published via CME Info at childmortality.org. Its 2024 round puts global under-five mortality at roughly 4% (rounded), with 96% of children surviving past age five; this edition renders that split at global scale.
Global child mortality has plunged over recent decades, which is what makes a 4% rate a story of progress. But that progress is incomplete: the remaining burden is not evenly spread, and a global average hides wide gaps between countries.
Framed as one in twenty-five, the number resists abstraction: in any group of twenty-five children, one does not reach their fifth birthday. That is the human stakes behind an otherwise encouraging global headline.
UN IGME 2024: ~4% under-five mortality globally, rounded.
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