UNDER-5 MORTALITY

Aug. 1, 2020

The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India released data on Deaths in the 0-4 year age group as part of the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2018 report.

Key findings:

  • Madhya Pradesh has the highest under-five mortality rate of 56 and Kerala has the lowest of 10. Under-five mortality rate is the probability of dying before 5 years of age for every 1,000 newborns.

  • Deaths in the 0-4 year age group account for 20% of total deaths in Madhya Pradesh. In contrast, deaths in this age group account for just 2% of total deaths in Kerala.

  • Other than Madhya Pradesh, the proportion of deaths in the 0-4 age group is also high in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar in that order i.e. states with poor development indices.

  • Other than Kerala, the proportion of deaths in the 0-4 age group is low in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra in that order.

  • In India as a whole and in most states, the deaths in the 0-4 age group constitute a higher proportion of total deaths in rural than in urban areas, except in a few states such as Uttarakhand and Punjab, where the proportion is higher in urban areas.