Infant mortality declined to a level never before recorded in the United States, according to new preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although it remains higher than in some other countries.
Just 5.36 infants per 1,000 live births died, according to the data. That was down from 5.54 in 2024 and 5.63 in 2023.
Infants refers to children who have not yet reached their first birthday. The data is based on death and birth certificates.
Researchers said the decline is statistically meaningful and translates into hundreds of fewer infant deaths per year.
“This is an encouraging data point, and we hope that this trend will continue,” said Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes.
Warren said it was difficult to pinpoint what was driving the decline.
The overall numbers have been going down. U.S. infant deaths fell to about 19,350 last year, according to provisional CDC data that may rise a little as additional analysis is completed. The final tally is still expected to be down from about 20,050 in 2024 and about 20,160 in 2023, according to the agency.
Leading causes of infant mortality are birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries such as car accidents, and pregnancy complications, the CDC says.
The new data is not yet available by state. In 2024, infant mortality rates varied widely across states.
The CDC said this week in a report analyzing infant mortality data from 2024 that Mississippi had the highest infant mortality rate at 9.65 deaths per 1,000 births, and New Hampshire had the lowest, at just under 3 per 1,000.
“These differences are reflective of a variety of reasons related to access to care, community factors, and policies that improve health and outcomes,” Warren said.
Not the Lowest
Worldwide, the infant mortality rate is 28 per 1,000 live births, according to the World Bank. The new U.S. rate is well below the average across countries.
A number of developed countries, though, boast lower rates, including Australia, Belgium, and Hungary.
From 2007 to 2022, infants were 78 percent more likely to die in the United States than in other high-income countries, researchers said in a 2025 paper.
Older children in the United States also faced higher odds of dying than kids in the other countries with high incomes.
In 2023, U.S. health officials began recommending two new measures aimed at protecting infants: a lab-made antibody shot for infants that helps the immune system fight off the respiratory syncytial virus, and an RSV vaccine for women between 32 weeks and 36 weeks of pregnancy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.