Data check: Uttar Pradesh’s child mortality rate is as alarming as Afghanistan’s

Nearly 60 of every 1,000 children born in Uttar Pradesh die before their fifth birthday, almost as many as in Afghanistan, according to data from the latest National Family Health Survey and the World Bank.

Across India, 42 of every 1,000 children die before the age of five, according to National Family Health Survey-5. Afghanistan (60.3/1,000) and Pakistan (67.2/1,000) are the only countries in South Asia, where the child mortality rate – the number of child deaths per 1,000 live births before age five – is higher than that of India’s.

Among all states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar (56.4 deaths for every 1,000 live births) and Chhattisgarh (50.4/1,000) have the highest under-five mortality rate. Puducherry (3.9/1,000), Goa (10.6/1,000) and Kerala (5.6/1,000) have the least, data shows.

The 10 Indian states with the highest child mortality rates compare with Afghanistan, and countries in eastern and southern Africa – where some countries have Africa’s most protracted conflicts, according to the World Bank. As many as 16 of 34 Indian states and Union Territories in India have child mortality rates comparable with countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Only 27 of 194 countries for which data are available for 2019 have child mortality rates greater than that in Indian states.

This analysis does not include Lakshadweep and Chandigarh, where the…

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