Infant mortality numbers are down, but there's room for improvement in rural India

The number of babies dying before the age of one has fallen sharply from 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015 to 24 in 2024.

According to the latest Sample Registration System data (2024) released by the Office of the Registrar General of India, the country is slowly moving towards smaller families, better healthcare, and lower infant mortality. At the national level, fewer children are being born compared to earlier years. At the same time, India’s death rate has stayed low and stable.

One of the biggest improvements has been in infant mortality. The number of babies dying before the age of one has fallen sharply from 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015 to 24 in 2024.

URBAN-RURAL STORY

In terms of birth rates, cities still perform better. Between 2015 and 2024, the rural birth rate declined from 22.4 to 20.2, while the urban birth rate fell from 17.3 to 14.7.

A similar pattern was visible in death rates. Rural death rates declined from 7.1 in 2015 to 6.8 in 2024, indicating gradual improvements in healthcare access, nutrition, and living standards. Urban death rates remained consistently lower throughout the decade, changing only marginally from 5.4 in 2015 to 5.6 in 2024.

Notably, both rural and urban areas recorded a temporary spike in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when death rates rose to 7.9 and 6.6, respectively.

INFANT MORTALITY

In March 2025, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare noted that between 1990 and 2020, infant mortality in India reduced by 69 per cent. This was better than the global average of 58 per cent. In urban India, the rate fell from 25 deaths per 1,000 live births to 17 between 2015 and 2024. Rural India improved even faster, with infant mortality rate dropping from 41 to 27 during the same period.

Although urban areas still have better overall health indicators, rural India has shown faster progress in reducing infant deaths. This improvement is linked to more institutional deliveries, vaccination drives, nutrition programmes, primary healthcare centres, and government schemes focused on mothers and children. However, infant mortality in rural areas is yet to reach the National Health Policy goal of single digits.

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