Iraq - Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births)

The value for Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) in Iraq was 25.20 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 191.20 in 1960 and a minimum value of 25.20 in 2020.

Definition: Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.

Source: Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.

See also:

Year Value
1960 191.20
1961 180.30
1962 170.30
1963 161.10
1964 152.60
1965 144.90
1966 137.70
1967 131.00
1968 124.80
1969 119.00
1970 113.60
1971 108.40
1972 103.50
1973 98.90
1974 94.40
1975 90.20
1976 86.20
1977 82.50
1978 79.00
1979 75.90
1980 72.90
1981 70.20
1982 67.70
1983 65.40
1984 63.30
1985 61.40
1986 59.60
1987 58.00
1988 56.60
1989 55.20
1990 54.10
1991 53.00
1992 51.90
1993 51.00
1994 50.10
1995 49.10
1996 48.20
1997 47.30
1998 46.30
1999 45.40
2000 44.50
2001 43.50
2002 42.60
2003 41.80
2004 40.90
2005 40.00
2006 39.10
2007 38.10
2008 37.10
2009 36.00
2010 34.90
2011 33.80
2012 32.80
2013 31.70
2014 30.70
2015 29.70
2016 28.80
2017 27.90
2018 27.00
2019 26.10
2020 25.20

Development Relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries.

Limitations and Exceptions: Complete vital registration systems are fairly uncommon in developing countries. Thus estimates must be obtained from sample surveys or derived by applying indirect estimation techniques to registration, census, or survey data. Survey data are subject to recall error, and surveys estimating infant/child deaths require large samples because households in which a birth has occurred during a given year cannot ordinarily be preselected for sampling. Indirect estimates rely on model life tables that may be inappropriate for the population concerned. Extrapolations based on outdated surveys may not be reliable for monitoring changes in health status or for comparative analytical work.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The main sources of mortality data are vital registration systems and direct or indirect estimates based on sample surveys or censuses. A "complete" vital registration system - covering at least 90 percent of vital events in the population - is the best source of age-specific mortality data. Estimates of neonatal, infant, and child mortality tend to vary by source and method for a given time and place. Years for available estimates also vary by country, making comparisons across countries and over time difficult. To make neonatal, infant, and child mortality estimates comparable and to ensure consistency across estimates by different agencies, the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), which comprises the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the United Nations Population Division, and other universities and research institutes, developed and adopted a statistical method that uses all available information to reconcile differences. The method uses statistical models to obtain a best estimate trend line by fitting a country-specific regression model of mortality rates against their reference dates.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development ac

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Mortality