The infant mortality rate of Vietnam has fallen substantially over recent decades as maternal care, vaccination, nutrition, sanitation and access to healthcare have improved. The latest World Bank data available for 2024 estimate an infant mortality rate of approximately 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
This means that, statistically, around 10 to 11 children out of every 1,000 live births in Vietnam die before reaching their first birthday. The World Bank also estimates approximately 6,806 infant deaths in Vietnam in 2024.
The national figure, however, does not tell the whole story. UNICEF continues to report important inequalities between urban and rural populations, different regions and ethnic groups, with children in remote and disadvantaged communities facing greater risks.
What is the infant mortality rate of Vietnam?
According to the latest World Bank indicator available for 2024, Vietnam's infant mortality rate is approximately:
10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Infant mortality measures the probability of a child dying before reaching one year of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
It is one of the most widely used indicators for evaluating the health of children and the broader performance of a country's healthcare and social systems.
Vietnam infant mortality rate: key figures
Recent international estimates provide the following picture:
| Indicator | Latest figure |
|---|---|
| Infant mortality rate | About 10.5 per 1,000 live births |
| Number of infant deaths | About 6,806 |
| Neonatal mortality rate | Around 9 per 1,000 live births in UNICEF data |
| Under-five mortality rate | Around 17.3 per 1,000 live births in UNICEF data |
The indicators measure different periods of childhood and should not be used interchangeably.
What does infant mortality rate mean?
The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths among children before their first birthday per 1,000 live births.
For example, a rate of 10.5 does not mean that 10.5% of Vietnamese babies die during infancy.
It means approximately 10.5 deaths for every 1,000 live births, equivalent to about 1.05%.
This distinction is important because mortality indicators are usually reported per 1,000 births rather than as percentages.
Infant mortality vs neonatal mortality
Infant mortality and neonatal mortality are related but different indicators.
Neonatal mortality refers to deaths during the first 28 days of life.
Infant mortality covers the entire period from birth until the child's first birthday.
Therefore, every neonatal death is also included in infant mortality, but infant mortality additionally includes deaths occurring between 28 days and one year of age.
UNICEF data indicate that neonatal mortality remains a major component of child deaths in Vietnam.
Infant mortality vs under-five mortality
The under-five mortality rate measures the probability that a child will die before reaching five years of age.
It therefore covers a longer period than infant mortality.
UNICEF's latest country data for Vietnam indicate an under-five mortality rate of approximately 17.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024.
The difference between infant and under-five mortality represents deaths occurring after the first birthday but before age five.
Has infant mortality fallen in Vietnam?
Yes. Vietnam has achieved major reductions in child mortality over several decades.
The country has expanded:
- Maternal healthcare
- Skilled birth attendance
- Vaccination
- Newborn care
- Treatment of childhood infections
- Nutrition programs
- Health insurance coverage
- Access to primary healthcare
- Clean water and sanitation
UNICEF describes Vietnam's progress in child survival as substantial, although it also emphasizes that improvements have not benefited all children equally.
The remaining challenge is increasingly concentrated among newborns and children living in disadvantaged communities.
Why has infant mortality decreased in Vietnam?
There is no single explanation.
Improved survival reflects progress across several areas of public health and economic development.
Important factors include:
- Better prenatal care
- More births attended by trained health professionals
- Improved newborn intensive care
- Expansion of vaccination programs
- Better nutrition
- Greater access to antibiotics and other essential treatments
- Improvements in water and sanitation
- Rising household incomes
- Better maternal education
- Wider access to hospitals and community health services
Together, these changes have reduced many preventable causes of infant and child death.
Why do newborn deaths remain important?
As mortality from infections and other childhood diseases declines, deaths during the first weeks of life account for a larger share of remaining infant deaths.
The neonatal period is particularly vulnerable because newborns can deteriorate rapidly when complications occur.
Important causes of neonatal mortality internationally and in Vietnam include:
- Premature birth
- Low birth weight
- Birth complications
- Infections
- Congenital abnormalities
Access to skilled obstetric and neonatal care can significantly affect outcomes.
Premature birth and infant mortality
Babies born prematurely have a higher risk of complications because organs such as the lungs, brain and digestive system may not be fully developed.
Very premature babies can require:
- Neonatal intensive care
- Respiratory support
- Temperature control
- Specialized feeding
- Infection prevention
- Continuous monitoring
Vietnam has expanded neonatal care, particularly in major hospitals, but access to advanced neonatal services can vary between regions.
Birth complications
Problems during labor and delivery can also contribute to neonatal mortality.
Rapid access to skilled maternity care is important when complications develop.
This may include access to:
- Emergency obstetric care
- Caesarean delivery when medically required
- Neonatal resuscitation
- Oxygen and respiratory support
- Blood transfusion
- Specialist newborn care
Delays in reaching appropriate healthcare can increase risk, particularly in remote areas.
Infant infections in Vietnam
Infections remain an important threat to newborn and infant health.
Possible serious infections include:
- Sepsis
- Pneumonia
- Meningitis
- Severe diarrheal disease
Young infants may develop serious illness quickly and sometimes show only subtle symptoms.
Fever, difficulty breathing, poor feeding, unusual sleepiness, repeated vomiting or significant changes in behavior in a young infant should be medically assessed promptly.
Vaccination and infant survival
Vaccination is one of the most important tools for preventing childhood infectious diseases.
Vietnam has operated a national Expanded Programme on Immunization for decades, contributing to major reductions in vaccine-preventable illnesses.
However, vaccination coverage has not always been uniform.
UNICEF reported disruptions to routine immunization in recent years, including a significant fall in coverage during 2023 associated with vaccine procurement and supply-chain problems. Coverage subsequently recovered substantially.
Maintaining high vaccination coverage is important because declining immunity in the population can allow outbreaks of diseases such as measles.
Rural and urban differences
National averages hide important geographical inequalities.
UNICEF reports that infant and under-five mortality in rural households remain substantially higher than in urban areas.
Children living far from major hospitals can face barriers such as:
- Longer travel distances
- Limited specialist neonatal care
- Fewer healthcare professionals
- Delayed emergency treatment
- Lower access to preventive services
These differences mean that a national infant mortality rate cannot accurately describe the risk faced by every Vietnamese child.
Infant mortality among ethnic minority communities
Ethnic minority children in Vietnam can face substantially greater health disadvantages than the majority Kinh population.
UNICEF research has repeatedly identified disparities associated with:
- Geography
- Poverty
- Access to healthcare
- Sanitation
- Nutrition
- Maternal education
- Language barriers
- Infrastructure
Many ethnic minority communities are located in remote mountainous areas where accessing specialist maternal and neonatal care can be more difficult.
UNICEF's recent analysis continues to identify ethnic minority and remote communities among the populations facing the greatest child-health inequalities.
Does poverty affect infant mortality?
Yes. Socioeconomic circumstances can strongly influence child survival.
Families with fewer resources may experience greater difficulties obtaining:
- Prenatal care
- Nutritious food
- Safe housing
- Clean water
- Transportation to hospitals
- Specialist medical treatment
Vietnam's economic development has helped improve health outcomes nationally, but significant differences remain between households and regions.
Does the mother's health affect infant survival?
Maternal health and infant health are closely connected.
Factors that can affect pregnancy and newborn outcomes include:
- Maternal nutrition
- Maternal infections
- High blood pressure during pregnancy
- Diabetes
- Access to prenatal care
- Maternal age
- Smoking or substance exposure
- Pregnancy complications
Regular prenatal care helps healthcare professionals identify some risks before they become emergencies.
Why maternal education matters
Education can influence health through multiple pathways.
Mothers with greater access to education may be more likely to:
- Attend prenatal appointments
- Recognize danger signs
- Access health information
- Complete childhood vaccination schedules
- Seek treatment earlier
- Have better economic opportunities
Historical UNICEF data for Vietnam have shown substantial differences in child and neonatal mortality according to maternal education and household socioeconomic status.
What is Vietnam's neonatal mortality rate?
UNICEF's recent country profile reports a neonatal mortality rate of approximately 9 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Neonatal mortality refers to deaths occurring within the first 28 days after birth.
This period accounts for a large proportion of infant deaths, which is why improving neonatal care is central to further reducing Vietnam's overall infant mortality rate.
What is Vietnam's under-five mortality rate?
UNICEF estimates Vietnam's under-five mortality rate at approximately 17.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024.
The long-term trend has been strongly downward.
UNICEF's data show the under-five mortality rate falling from more than 50 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to below 20 in recent years.
This represents a major improvement in child survival.
How does Vietnam compare with Thailand?
Thailand currently has a lower infant mortality rate than Vietnam.
World Bank data for 2024 show approximately:
- Vietnam: 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births
- Thailand: 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births
This comparison shows that Vietnam has made considerable progress but still has room to reduce infant mortality further.
Country comparisons should be interpreted carefully because healthcare systems, population structures, income levels and data collection methods differ.
How does Vietnam compare internationally?
Vietnam's infant mortality rate is much lower than it was several decades ago and lower than rates in many lower-income countries.
However, it remains higher than in many high-income countries, where infant mortality rates are commonly below five deaths per 1,000 live births.
For example, World Bank data for 2024 report approximately:
- United States: 5.0 per 1,000
- United Kingdom: 3.7 per 1,000
- United Arab Emirates: 3.4 per 1,000
- Thailand: 6.9 per 1,000
- Vietnam: 10.5 per 1,000
These comparisons are useful for context but do not by themselves explain why mortality differs between countries.
Is infant mortality the same everywhere in Vietnam?
No.
There are important differences between:
- Urban and rural areas
- Wealthier and poorer households
- Lowland and mountainous regions
- Kinh and ethnic minority populations
- Areas with different levels of healthcare access
A family living near a major maternity and children's hospital in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City may have very different access to specialist care from a family living several hours from a referral hospital in a remote mountainous province.
Reducing these inequalities is one of the major remaining challenges for Vietnamese child health.
Healthcare access for newborns in Vietnam
Vietnam has a broad healthcare system ranging from commune-level health stations to provincial and national referral hospitals.
Serious neonatal conditions may require transfer to hospitals with specialized neonatal units.
Large cities generally have greater access to:
- Neonatologists
- Neonatal intensive care units
- Advanced imaging
- Pediatric surgery
- Respiratory support
- Specialist diagnostics
Access can be more limited in remote provinces, which can contribute to regional differences in outcomes.
What is Vietnam doing to reduce child mortality?
Vietnam's child-survival efforts include programs related to:
- Maternal healthcare
- Safe childbirth
- Neonatal care
- Vaccination
- Nutrition
- Primary healthcare
- Disease prevention
- Health insurance
- Water and sanitation
International organizations including UNICEF and WHO work with Vietnamese authorities on maternal, newborn and child health programs.
Recent UNICEF reports emphasize that further progress will require greater attention to disadvantaged rural areas and ethnic minority populations.
Can Vietnam reduce infant mortality further?
Yes, but future reductions may become progressively more difficult.
Many relatively easy-to-prevent childhood deaths have already declined substantially. A growing share of remaining deaths occur in newborns or populations with poor access to high-quality healthcare.
Further progress is likely to depend on areas such as:
- Improving prenatal care in disadvantaged communities
- Expanding neonatal intensive care
- Preventing premature births where possible
- Strengthening emergency transport
- Improving vaccination coverage
- Reducing malnutrition
- Improving rural healthcare infrastructure
- Increasing access to skilled health professionals
Reducing geographical and socioeconomic inequality is particularly important.
Are infant mortality statistics exact?
No mortality estimate should be interpreted as an exact count of every event.
International organizations combine information from sources such as:
- Civil registration
- Household surveys
- Censuses
- Health information systems
- Statistical models
The UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation produces standardized estimates so countries can be compared more consistently.
As additional data become available, historical estimates can also be revised.
This explains why different reputable databases may occasionally display slightly different figures for the same country and period.
Why do some websites show different infant mortality rates for Vietnam?
Different websites may use:
- Different publication years
- Different underlying datasets
- Older estimates
- National statistics instead of international estimates
- Different revisions of UN mortality models
For this reason, an article published several years ago may show a higher figure even if it was correct when written.
For international comparisons, data from organizations such as the World Bank and UNICEF are generally preferable to unsourced statistics found on secondary websites.
What is the latest infant mortality rate of Vietnam?
As of 2026, the most recent World Bank figure available is for 2024, when Vietnam's infant mortality rate was approximately 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
There is normally a delay between the calendar year and publication of finalized international mortality estimates because data must be collected, reviewed and modeled.
Therefore, a 2024 figure can still be the latest internationally comparable estimate in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the infant mortality rate of Vietnam?
The latest World Bank data available for 2024 estimate Vietnam's infant mortality rate at approximately 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
What does Vietnam's infant mortality rate mean?
It measures the number of children who die before their first birthday per 1,000 live births. A rate of 10.5 per 1,000 is equivalent to approximately 1.05%.
How many infant deaths occur in Vietnam?
The World Bank estimates approximately 6,806 deaths among infants under one year of age in Vietnam in 2024.
Is infant mortality decreasing in Vietnam?
Yes. Infant and child mortality have fallen substantially over several decades as healthcare access, maternal care, vaccination, nutrition and living conditions have improved.
What is the neonatal mortality rate in Vietnam?
Recent UNICEF data indicate approximately 9 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births. Neonatal mortality refers to deaths during the first 28 days of life.
What is the under-five mortality rate in Vietnam?
UNICEF's latest data indicate an under-five mortality rate of approximately 17.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024.
Why is child mortality higher in rural Vietnam?
Rural and remote communities can face longer distances to hospitals, fewer specialist services, poverty, weaker infrastructure and other barriers to maternal and child healthcare.
Is Vietnam's infant mortality rate lower than Thailand's?
No. World Bank data for 2024 indicate an infant mortality rate of approximately 10.5 per 1,000 live births in Vietnam compared with approximately 6.9 in Thailand.
Conclusion
The infant mortality rate of Vietnam has fallen dramatically over the country's long-term development, but preventable infant and newborn deaths remain an important public-health issue.
The latest World Bank estimate available for 2024 places Vietnam's infant mortality rate at approximately 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, with around 6,806 infant deaths during the year. UNICEF data also show that neonatal deaths remain a major component of child mortality and that the under-five mortality rate was around 17.3 per 1,000 live births in 2024.
Vietnam's national averages hide substantial inequalities. Children in rural, mountainous, poor and ethnic minority communities continue to face greater health risks and greater barriers to accessing high-quality maternal, newborn and pediatric care.
Further reductions in infant mortality will therefore depend not only on improving national healthcare indicators but also on ensuring that advances in prenatal care, safe childbirth, neonatal medicine, vaccination and nutrition reach the country's most disadvantaged children.
Sources
Writer
Tan Nguyen
Medical writer for Vietnam Clinic. MD, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.
