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Which Countries Have the Highest Infant Mortality Rates?

Published

1 week ago

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See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

A chart of the top 15 countries with the highest infant mortality rates.

Which Countries Have the Highest Infant Mortality Rates?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

We visualized the top 15 countries with the highest infant mortality rates, according to 2023 estimates from the CIA World Factbook. It is measured as the number of infant deaths under the age of one, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

ℹ️ Comoros has been excluded from the map for visibility reasons.

Infant mortality rates are generally regarded as the barometer of an overall population’s health. A higher rate indicates unmet needs of a population, especially with regards to food availability and sanitation.

Ranked: Countries With the Highest Infant Mortality Rates

Afghanistan currently has the highest infant mortality rate in the world at 103 deaths per 1,000 babies born. Decades of conflict have pushed the country to the brink and a prolonged drought since 2021 has made food more scarce.

RankCountryRegionInfant Mortality Rate (2023)
1🇦🇫 AfghanistanAsia103.1
2🇸🇴 SomaliaAfrica85.1
3🇨🇫 Central African RepublicAfrica81.7
4🇬🇶 Equatorial GuineaAfrica77.9
5🇸🇱 Sierra LeoneAfrica72.3
6🇳🇪 NigerAfrica65.5
7🇹🇩 ChadAfrica64.0
8🇸🇸 South SudanAfrica61.6
9🇲🇿 MozambiqueAfrica59.8
10🇨🇩 DRCAfrica59.1
11🇲🇱 MaliAfrica59.0
12🇦🇴 AngolaAfrica57.2
13🇱🇷 LiberiaAfrica56.1
14🇰🇲 ComorosAfrica56.0
15🇳🇬 NigeriaAfrica55.2
N/A🌐 WorldWorld28.0

Meanwhile, the other 14 countries on this list are all from Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of them are also experiencing civil unrest, a breakdown of state machinery, and high undernourishment rates.

While this is concerning, Africa’s infant mortality rate as a whole has improved tremendously in the last seven decades. Between 1950–2024, the continent’s average fell 73% to 41 deaths per 1,000 births.

Expansion of healthcare, improving nutrition, access to clean drinking water, and mass immunization programs are some of the reasons behind this massive decline.

Estimates assume Africa’s infant mortality rate will improve further to 25 per 1,000 live births by 2050—which is roughly the same as Asia today.

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Cannabis

Mapped: Countries Where Recreational Cannabis is Legal

In total, only nine countries have fully legalized recreational cannabis use.

Published

5 days ago

on

May 12, 2024

By

This map shows the countries where recreational cannabis use is allowed as of April 2024.

Countries Where Recreational Cannabis is Legal

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In 2024, Germany became the third European Union country to legalize cannabis for personal use, following Malta and Luxembourg.

Here, we map the countries where recreational cannabis use is allowed as of April 2024, based on data from Wikipedia.

Limited to Few Countries

In total, only nine countries have legalized recreational cannabis use nationwide. However, just a few of them have licensed sales.

CountryEffective dateLicensed sales since
🇺🇾 UruguayDecember 2013July 2017
🇬🇪 Georgia30 July 2018Never authorized
🇿🇦 South Africa18 September 2018Never authorized
🇨🇦 Canada17 October 201817 October 2018
🇲🇽 Mexico28 June 2021Never authorized
🇲🇹 Malta14 December 2021Never authorized
🇹🇭 Thailand9 June 20229 June 2022
🇱🇺 Luxembourg21 July 2023Never authorized
🇩🇪 Germany1 April 2024Never authorized
🇺🇸 U.S.Varies by stateVaries by state
🇦🇺 AustraliaVaries by jurisdictionNever authorized

At the federal level, cannabis is still considered an illegal substance in the United States. That said, individual states do have the right to determine their laws around cannabis sales and usage. Currently, cannabis is allowed in 24 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia.

Interestingly, the oldest legal text concerning cannabis dates back to the 1600s—when the colony of Virginia required every farm to grow and produce hemp.

Since then, cannabis use was fairly widespread until the 1930s when the Marihuana Tax Act was enforced, prohibiting marijuana federally but still technically allowing for medical use.

Today, the U.S. cannabis market is a $30 billion business. By the end of the decade, that number is expected to be anywhere from $58 billion to as much as $72 billion.

Similar to the U.S., Australia does not allow the use at the national level, but cannabis can be used legally in the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital Canberra.

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