Childhood Deaths At Record Low, But Progress 'Precarious': UN

In many developing countries early childhood mortality has fallen by more than 75 percent since 2000, according to a joint UNICEF, WHO and World Bank report (Credit: AFP)

The number of children worldwide who died before age five reached a record low in 2022, the United Nations said in a report published Tuesday, as for the first time fewer than five million died.

According to the estimate, 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2022, a 51 percent decrease since 2000 and a 62 percent drop since 1990, according to the report, which still warned such progress is "precarious" and unequal.