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Mortality rate at 2.6 deaths per 1,000 live births

04/06/2021 15:50

In the EU in 2019, around 14,100 children died before reaching one year of age. This is equivalent to an infant mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to data released today by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU. In Cyprus this rate is the 6th lowest in the EU, at 2.6 for 2019, up from 2.4 in 2018 and 1.3 in 2017, but lower than a decade ago when it was 3.2 (2010) and 3.1 (2011). In Greece this rate was 3.7 in 2019 up from 3.5 in 2018 and 2017, at around the same level of a decade ago (3.8 in 2010).

Over the last decade, the infant mortality rate in the EU fell from 4.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019. Compared with 1961, the infant mortality rate reduced dramatically: from 38.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.

In 2019, the highest infant mortality rates in the EU were registered in Malta (6.7 deaths per 1 000 live births), Romania (5.8) and Bulgaria (5.6). In contrast, the lowest rate was recorded in Estonia (1.6 deaths), followed by Slovenia, Finland and Sweden (all 2.1 deaths per 1 000 live births).

Compared with 1961, the infant mortality decreased in all EU member states with the largest decreases recorded in Portugal (from 88.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1961 to 2.8 in 2019), Romania (from 71.4 in 1961 to 5.8 in 2019) and Croatia (from 62.9 in 1961 to 4.0 in 2019).