Which country in Africa has the highest infant mortality?

The South Sudan has the highest infant mortality in Africa: 71.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (2024). Next come Nigeria (69.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) and Niger (65.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births).

Which country in Africa has the lowest infant mortality?

Libya, with 7.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (2024).

What is the typical infant mortality of a country in Africa?

The median of the 54 countries in Africa is 35.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

Babies who die before their first birthday, for every 1,000 born alive. Source: World Bank, 2024. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in Africa by infant mortality

Babies who die before their first birthday, for every 1,000 born alive. 54 countries in Africa, highest first. World Bank, 2024

See it on the map

Map: Infant mortality — Africa — **3.1**611152539No data

Highest

71.9

South Sudan

Median country

35.5

half above, half below

Lowest

7.9

Libya

Countries in Africa by infant mortality, World Bank, 2024
#	Country	Per 1,000 births	Region
1	South Sudan	71.9	Eastern Africa
2	Nigeria	69.8	Western Africa
3	Niger	65.6	Western Africa
4	Somalia	65.4	Eastern Africa
5	Liberia	63.2	Western Africa
6	Zimbabwe	62.4	Eastern Africa
7	Guinea	59.8	Western Africa
8	Central African Republic	58.8	Middle Africa
9	DR Congo	56.4	Middle Africa
=10	Chad	56.3	Middle Africa
=10	Lesotho	56.3	Southern Africa
12	Sierra Leone	54.6	Western Africa
13	Equatorial Guinea	47.6	Middle Africa
14	Mali	47.5	Western Africa
15	Benin	45.2	Western Africa
16	Côte d'Ivoire	44.8	Western Africa
17	Mozambique	43.7	Eastern Africa
18	Burkina Faso	43.6	Western Africa
=19	Djibouti	43.0	Eastern Africa
=19	Madagascar	43.0	Eastern Africa
21	Sudan	42.9	Northern Africa
22	Eswatini	42.2	Southern Africa
23	Guinea-Bissau	42.1	Western Africa
24	Cameroon	40.2	Middle Africa
25	Malawi	38.0	Eastern Africa
26	Namibia	36.4	Southern Africa
27	Uganda	35.9	Eastern Africa
28	Comoros	35.0	Eastern Africa
29	Togo	34.8	Western Africa
30	Zambia	34.6	Eastern Africa
31	Ethiopia	34.5	Eastern Africa
32	Kenya	34.2	Eastern Africa
33	Gambia	32.7	Western Africa
=34	Angola	32.1	Middle Africa
=34	Botswana	32.1	Southern Africa
36	Burundi	30.5	Eastern Africa
37	Mauritania	30.2	Western Africa
38	Rwanda	29.4	Eastern Africa
39	Senegal	28.9	Western Africa
40	Tanzania	28.7	Eastern Africa
41	Ghana	27.5	Western Africa
42	Congo	27.0	Middle Africa
43	Gabon	25.9	Middle Africa
44	Eritrea	24.7	Eastern Africa
45	South Africa	24.2	Southern Africa
46	Egypt	20.8	Northern Africa
47	Algeria	19.5	Northern Africa
48	Morocco	14.7	Northern Africa
49	Mauritius	13.8	Eastern Africa
50	Seychelles	12.9	Eastern Africa
51	Cabo Verde	10.6	Western Africa
52	Tunisia	9.7	Northern Africa
53	São Tomé and Principe	9.2	Middle Africa
54	Libya	7.9	Northern Africa

Questions

Which country in Africa has the highest infant mortality?: The South Sudan has the highest infant mortality in Africa: 71.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (2024). Next come Nigeria (69.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) and Niger (65.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births).
Which country in Africa has the lowest infant mortality?: Libya, with 7.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (2024).
What is the typical infant mortality of a country in Africa?: The median of the 54 countries in Africa is 35.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: Babies who die before their first birthday, for every 1,000 born alive. Source: World Bank, 2024. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.