the Infant mortality rate — which measures the number of deaths per 1,000 babies born alive — fell to 12.3 in 2024, compared to 12.5 in 2023, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics reported (IPGE).
This number indicates a significant decline since 1940, when 146.6 children per thousand born did not complete their first year of life. Only in 1970 did the ratio fall below 100 for the first time in the historic IBGE series, reaching 97.6.. In 2000, 28.1 children per 1,000 live births died before their first birthday.
The decline intensified in 2010 – to 15.1 children per thousand births – and rose during the pandemic – from 11.4 in 2020 to 12.2 in 2021; 12.4% in 2022, and 12.5% in 2023 – and in 2024, they declined again, albeit at a slower pace.
Various factors have contributed to the decline in infant mortality in recent decades, as the International Institute of Geography points out, such as Large-scale vaccination campaignspay attention to prenatal And to Breastfeedinga job Community health agents and Nutrition programs childish.
Indicators outside of health – such as increases in income, education and the number of families in the country with access to adequate sanitation – are also among the reasons for the decline in infant mortality.
“Lower mortality levels have contributed to an increase in the life expectancy of Brazilians over the years,” IBGE wrote.
A person born in Brazil in 2024 can expect to live 76.6 years, up from 76.4 years in 2023 and well above 45.5 years in 1940..