Child and Infant Mortality in England and Wales 2023

Product Description

Stillbirths, infant and childhood deaths occurring annually in England and Wales, and associated risk factors.

Main points

• 2,320 infant deaths (aged under one year) and 961 child deaths (aged 1 to 15 years) occurred in England and Wales; these figures are lower than in 2022 (2,349 and 1,019, respectively).
• There were 3.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (unchanged from 2022), and 9 child deaths per 100,000 population (down from 10 in 2022).
• The neonatal mortality rate (aged under 28 days) was 3.0 deaths per 1,000 live births; the mortality rate was generally lower for neonates of longer gestations.
• The highest rates of infant mortality were among infants with a birthweight under 2,500 grammes (g), of Black ethnicity, or with a mother aged under 20 years.
• The main cause of death among children aged 28 days to 15 years continued to be congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities.
• In England, the mortality rate for infants living in the 10% most deprived areas was over twice the mortality rate for infants living in the 10% least deprived areas.