Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa's share of the world's deaths of children under five, UN IGME estimates, 1990–2024.
- 1. By 2100, more than 1 in 3 people will be African
- 2. Nearly half the world's under-25s will be African by 2100
- 3. DR Congo is projected to outgrow the US by 2100
- 4. Kinshasa will soon be bigger than Paris and London combined
- 5. Two-thirds of the world's mobile money moves in Africa
- 6. Volcanic heat makes nearly 45% of the power Kenya generates
- 7. Africa's solar imports more than doubled since early 2024
- 8. DR Congo mines three-quarters of the world's cobalt
- 9. Nearly two in three people in Africa are still offline
- 10. Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste
- 11. Ethiopia added over a third of Africa's new renewable power
- 12. DR Congo now has more children than Brazil
- 13. Nigeria's cities now hold more people than Japan's
- 14. Sudan now has the world's most people displaced at home
- 15. Nigeria now has almost 25 million more people than Brazil
- 16. Six of the ten fastest-growing big cities are African
- 17. Africa now has more hungry people than Asia
- 18. Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
- 19. Rwanda spread electricity faster than any country since 2014
Sub-Saharan Africa's share of the 4.86 million children who died before five in 2024, up from 30.3% in 1990.
Fall in child deaths worldwide since 1990, from 12.97 million; in sub-Saharan Africa they fell only 25%.
South Asia's share in 2024, down from 32.4% in 1990: ending child deaths is now mostly an African task.
the numbers & method
| sub-Saharan Africa (%) | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 30.3 |
| 2000 | 40.7 |
| 2014 | 50.1 |
| 2024 | 60.3 |
Claim types Estimate · Interpretation
Series SH.DTH.MORT 'Number of under-five deaths', estimates by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA), World Bank aggregates for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSF), South Asia (SAS) and World (WLD). Read from the World Bank API (WDI last updated 8 Oct 2026) on 4 Nov 2026. Deaths: World 12,970,030 (1990), 10,063,220 (2000), 6,267,968 (2014), 4,857,797 (2024); Sub-Saharan Africa 3,929,062, 4,090,846, 3,139,131, 2,931,098; South Asia 4,205,346 (1990), 736,800 (2024). Shares and changes are progrss calculations: 30.3%, 40.7%, 50.1%, 60.3%; world −62.5% (rounded to 63%), sub-Saharan Africa −25.4%. Sub-Saharan Africa first passed half of the world total in 2014 (50.1%). The 2024 share is 60.3%, slightly above 2022 (60.1%) and 2023 (59.6%). Modelled estimates, revised with each IGME round.
Published 4 Nov 2026
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