the infant mortality rate continues to rise in France

Infant mortality rate continues to rise in France

April 21, 2025

Since 2011, this infant mortality rate has "slightly increased", rising from 3.5 deaths per 1,000 live births to 4.1 per thousand in 2024, specifies the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. This means that one in 250 children dies before their first birthday,” develops the Insee. "A quarter of these deaths occur on the day of birth, half between 1 and 27 days of life, and a quarter in the post-neonatal period, which occurs from 28 days to less than a year."

In detail, boys, who have a higher risk of complications at birth and are more affected by genetic diseases than girls, are 1.2 times more likely than girls to die before the age of one. Children born through multiple births, such as twins or triplets, are five times more likely to die before the age of one than other children.

Higher risk for some mothers

THE "The risk is also higher for very young or very old mothers, employees, workers, and the inactive," adds the Insee. On the other hand, it is “lower for mothers aged 26 to 37.”

The infant mortality rate is also higher in overseas departments than in mainland France, "poverty is more widespread there, which can influence children's health" and women who know about it “more health problems.”

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Since 2015, the infant mortality rate in France has been higher than the EU average

For the Insee, "advances in medicine", which have allowed children who would previously have been stillborn, and therefore not counted in live births, "to survive for a few hours or days after birth, may have had a slight impact on the increase in infant mortality since 2011."

Since 2015, the rate of infant mortality in France is higher than the European Union average: in 2023, it reached 3.3 per thousand on average in the EU, compared to 4 per thousand in France, according to INSEE.

In 2022, France ranked 23rd out of the 27 European Union states in terms of infant mortality, according to a study by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) published in March. Faced with this continuing trend, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin announced on Monday her desire to "create a national infant mortality register" in order to know "precisely the causes" of this increase.

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