Infant Mortality Rate: Nepal

Analysis# Nepal Infant Mortality Rate Nepal's infant mortality rate stands at 22.2 per 1,000 births in 2024, marking a historic low for the country. This represents a dramatic 89.9% decline from the 1960 peak of 219.4 per 1,000 births. Over six decades, Nepal has fundamentally transformed outcomes for newborns, moving from a baseline where roughly one in five infants did not survive to one where the rate has fallen below 23 per 1,000. The past decade reveals sustained downward momentum. Between 2015 and 2024, the rate dropped from 32.4 to 22.2 per 1,000 births—a consistent year-over-year improvement averaging approximately one point per year. This steady trajectory suggests that advances in healthcare access, maternal nutrition, and vaccination coverage continue to take hold. If current trends persist, Nepal's infant mortality rate will approach levels seen in many developed nations within the coming years.