Child Mortality (under 5) in Uganda: 1800 to Today (and Tomorrow)

At MYRIAD, we examine the statistics of human lives to understand the physical reality of our world. For Uganda, the metric of child mortality under five tells a story of survival across three centuries, where every recorded value represents the lives actually lived there. Of every 1,000 children born, how many died before their fifth birthday is a fundamental measure of human vulnerability and resilience. In the 2020s, child mortality under five in Uganda stands at 75 per 1,000 births, ranking #154 of 157 countries, based on data compiled by MYRIAD from the UN IGME, World Bank, and Gapminder.

The historical arc of this statistic reveals a gradual yet profound transformation over generations. In the 1800s estimate, child mortality under five was 450 per 1,000 births, ticking down slowly through the decades to 442 in the 1840s estimate and 430 in the 1900s estimate. By the mid-twentieth century, the numbers shifted more visibly: 320 in the 1950s, 273.33 in the 1960s, 226.67 in the 1970s, and 180 in the 1980s. Continuing downward through the decades, the rate reached 165 in the 1990s, 150 in the 2000s, and 112.5 in the 2010s, leading directly to the current 75 per 1,000 births in the 2020s, with future projections extending toward 60 in the 2030s projection and 12.58 in the 2100s projection.

What it means to be born in Uganda depends entirely on the era you inherit, moving from a past where nearly half of all children failed to reach their fifth birthday toward a future of steadily improving odds. As you trace these decades of progress, you can see the changing weight of childhood survival across generations.

Where do YOU rank among everyone ever born? →