Infant mortality in Tanzania 1955-2020

In 1955, the infant mortality rate in Tanzania was almost 150 deaths per thousand live births, meaning that just under fifteen percent of all babies born in this year would not survive past their first birthday. Infant mortality would steadily decline in Tanzania in the second half of the 20 ^th century, as the country would begin to modernize following its independence from the British Empire in 1961. While the rate of decline in infant mortality slowed somewhat in the 1980s as a worsening economy and the emergence of HIV would lead to a scaling back of many government social and health programs, infant mortality has continued to decline in Tanzania in recent years. This has been particularly true since the late 1990s, as a series of reforms and an improvement in the country’s economic status would allow for a reduction in poverty and improvements in the country’s healthcare systems. As a result, it is estimated that Tanzania has an infant mortality rate of 41 deaths per thousand births in 2020; less than half the rate in 2000, and less than a third of the rate in 1975.