Nigeria Ranks Second In Countries With Most Newborn Deaths

Nigeria ranks second worldwide in countries with the most newborn deaths. Nearly two-thirds of all newborn deaths occur in just 10 countries. That is 2 million out of 3 million each year. Many of these countries have very large populations (such as India and Nigeria) and others have high percentages of newborns dying (Afghanistan, DR Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria also).

Several have both large populations and high newborn mortality rates (Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and Pakistan). These are places where mothers are also at high risk of death during pregnancy.Childbirth  is at 59 percent of maternal deaths occur in these same 10 countries.

Data sources: Healthy Newborn Network (data compiled for A Decade of Change for Newborn Survival, Policy and Programmes (2000-2010): A Multi-Country Evaluation of Progress