Eurostat: Infants Mortality in the EU Is the Highest in Malta, Romania and Bulgaria

According to Eurostat data, which was published today, In the EU-28 in 2017, around 18 200 children died before reaching one year of age; this was equivalent to an infant mortality rate of 3.6 deaths per 1 000 live births.

During the 10 years from 2007 to 2017, the infant mortality rate in the EU fell from 4.4 deaths per 1 000 live births to 3.6 deaths per 1 000 live births; extending the analysis to the last 20 years, the infant mortality rate was almost halved (6.8 deaths per 1 000 in 1997).

In 2017, the highest infant mortality rates in the EU were registered in Malta and Romania (both 6.7 deaths per 1 000 live births) and Bulgaria (6.4 deaths), and the lowest in Cyprus (1.3 deaths) and Finland (2.0 deaths).