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Neonatal mortality rate in South Africa

The neonatal mortality rate in South Africa was 12.4 per 1,000 live births in 2024. The value for 2024 is the highest since 2011.

Measure: Neonatal mortality rate Unit: Deaths per 1,000 live births Data: 1975 to 2024 Source: World Bank
South Africa, 2024 12.4 Deaths per 1,000 live births
Change from 2023 +0.2per 1,000 live births 2023: 12.2 per 1,000 live births
World, 2024 17.2 per 1,000 live births Official aggregate
Median of G20 countries, 2024 3.0 per 1,000 live births Middle value of 19 countries
Position in 2024 70th of 196 See the full ranking

Neonatal mortality rate in South Africa over time

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2 selected
Groups and aggregates
Countries
South Africa World ×

Deaths per 1,000 live births. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Neonatal mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births), 2000 to 2024
Period South AfricaWorld
2024 12.4 per 1,000 live births 17.2 per 1,000 live births
2023 12.2 per 1,000 live births 17.6 per 1,000 live births
2022 12.0 per 1,000 live births 17.9 per 1,000 live births
2021 11.7 per 1,000 live births 18.0 per 1,000 live births
2020 11.6 per 1,000 live births 18.2 per 1,000 live births
2019 11.5 per 1,000 live births 18.3 per 1,000 live births
2018 11.4 per 1,000 live births 18.5 per 1,000 live births
2017 11.5 per 1,000 live births 18.6 per 1,000 live births
2016 11.6 per 1,000 live births 18.9 per 1,000 live births
2015 11.7 per 1,000 live births 19.4 per 1,000 live births
2014 11.7 per 1,000 live births 19.7 per 1,000 live births
2013 11.9 per 1,000 live births 20.3 per 1,000 live births
2012 12.1 per 1,000 live births 20.8 per 1,000 live births
2011 12.5 per 1,000 live births 21.5 per 1,000 live births
2010 13.0 per 1,000 live births 22.1 per 1,000 live births
2009 13.3 per 1,000 live births 22.7 per 1,000 live births
2008 13.4 per 1,000 live births 23.4 per 1,000 live births
2007 13.3 per 1,000 live births 24.1 per 1,000 live births
2006 13.1 per 1,000 live births 24.9 per 1,000 live births
2005 12.8 per 1,000 live births 25.8 per 1,000 live births
2004 12.6 per 1,000 live births 26.7 per 1,000 live births
2003 12.6 per 1,000 live births 27.6 per 1,000 live births
2002 12.7 per 1,000 live births 28.5 per 1,000 live births
2001 13.0 per 1,000 live births 29.5 per 1,000 live births
2000 13.5 per 1,000 live births 30.3 per 1,000 live births

A dash means no value was published for that period.

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In short

  • That is a change of +0.2 from 12.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023.
  • Since 2014, when it was 11.7 per 1,000 live births, the figure has changed by +0.7.
  • Among the 196 countries with data for 2024, South Africa has the 70th highest value.
  • The figure for the world in 2024 was 17.2 per 1,000 live births.

More for South Africa

All statistics for South Africa
Infant mortality rate 24.2 per 1,000 live births 2024 · World Bank Under-five mortality rate 35.1 per 1,000 live births 2024 · World Bank Life expectancy estimates and projections 66.1 years 2023 · UN Population Division Life expectancy at 65, estimates and projections 15.0 years 2023 · UN Population Division Healthy life expectancy 56.2 years 2023 · WHO UHC service coverage 74 2023 · WHO

Source and dates

Original producer
UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA)
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
SH.DYN.NMRT · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1975 to 2024 for South Africa
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA)