India’s infant mortality rate dropped to a record low of 25 per 1,000 live births in 2023, a 37.5% fall since 2013 and an 80% decline since 1971, signaling major gains in child health across the country.
India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has hit a historic low of 25 per 1,000 live births in 2023, the Sample Registration System (SRS) report for 2023 by the Registrar General of India shows. IMR fell from 40 in 2013 to 25 in 2023, which is a significant drop of 37.5 per cent in a decade. Compared with 1971, when IMR was 129, the fall is about 80 per cent, reports news agency PTI. IMR measures the number of deaths of babies under one year of age for every 1,000 live births. A lower IMR is a key sign that health services for mothers and infants are improving.
The SRS 2023 report shows wide improvements across rural and urban areas. In rural India, IMR fell from 44 in 2013 to 28 in 2023, a decline of around 36 per cent. In urban areas, it fell from 27 to 18 over the same period, a drop of about 33 per cent. These falls show progress in health care access outside big cities as well.
But the report also shows large differences between states. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh reported the highest IMR at 37. At the other end, Manipur recorded the lowest IMR of 3. Kerala stood out among the big states with a single-digit IMR of 5, making it second only to Manipur.
The SRS report also documents long-term shifts in birth and death rates. The crude birth rate has fallen from 36.9 per 1,000 population in 1971 to 18.4 in 2023. Over the past decade, birth rate dropped from 21.4 in 2013 to 18.4 in 2023, a fall of about 14 per cent. Rural birth rates decreased from 22.9 to 20.3, and urban birth rates from 17.3 to 14.9. Bihar recorded the highest birth rate in 2023 at 25.8, while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands had the lowest at 10.1.
Death rates have also fallen steadily. The crude death rate slipped from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.4 in 2023. Small year-on-year gains are visible too: rural death rate fell from 7.2 in 2022 to 6.8 in 2023, and urban death rate from 6.0 to 5.7. Chandigarh reported the lowest death rate at 4, while Chhattisgarh recorded the highest at 8.3.
What do these numbers mean?
Lower IMR and falling birth and death rates point to better maternal and child health care, wider immunisation coverage, improved nutrition, and better access to health facilities. Greater use of institutional deliveries and targeted health programmes are likely factors behind the steady progress.
At the same time, the report makes clear that gains are not uniform. Several large and populous states still have high IMR and higher birth or death rates. These gaps suggest the need for focused public health action in lagging regions to reduce newborn and infant deaths further.
For policymakers, the SRS 2023 figures underline both success and the work left to do. India’s long-term decline in IMR is a public health achievement. But the next steps will be to bring the best practices to all states, strengthen primary health care, and close the remaining disparities so every child can survive and thrive.