HEALTH2 Infant mortality: Death rates among infants by detailed race and Hispanic origin of mother, selected years 1983–2020

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(Infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Characteristic 1983a 1984a 1985a 1986a 1987a 1988a 1989a 1990a 1991a 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Total 10.9 10.4 10.4 10.1 9.8 9.6 9.5 8.9 8.6 7.6 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.0 6.9 6.8 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.9 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.1 6.1 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.4
Race and Hispanic originb
White, non-Hispanic 9.2 8.6 8.6 8.3 8.1 7.8 7.8 7.2 7.0 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.4
Black, non-Hispanic 19.1 18.1 18.3 18.0 17.5 18.0 18.0 16.9 16.6 14.7 14.2 13.7 13.9 14.1 13.6 13.5 13.9 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.4 13.3 12.7 12.4 11.5 11.5 11.2 11.1 10.9 11.2 11.2 11.0 10.7 10.6 10.4
American Indian or Alaska Native,non-Hispanic 9.4 8.2 9.7 8.7 8.7 8.6 8.3 8.6 9.4 8.7 9.2 8.6 8.5 8.7 7.7 7.7 8.6 8.8 9.2 8.1 7.9 7.7
Asian or Pacific Islander,non-Hispanicc 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.7 4.1 3.8
Asian, non-Hispanic 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.1
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic 7.6 9.4 8.2 7.2
Hispanicd 9.5 9.3 8.8 8.4 8.2 8.3 8.1 7.5 7.1 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.1 4.9 5.0 4.7
Mexican American 9.1 8.9 8.5 7.9 8.0 7.8 7.7 7.2 6.9 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.9 5.0 5.1 4.9 5.0 4.7
Puerto Rican 12.9 12.9 11.2 11.8 9.9 11.6 11.7 9.9 9.7 8.9 8.6 7.9 7.8 8.3 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.2 7.8 8.3 8.0 7.7 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.8 6.9 5.9 7.2 6.4 6.1 6.5 5.6 6.2 6.3
Cuban 7.5 8.1 8.5 7.6 7.1 7.3 6.2 7.2 5.2 5.3 5.1 5.5 3.6 4.7 4.5 4.2 3.7 4.6 4.6 4.4 5.1 5.2 4.9 5.8 3.8 4.3 5.0 3.0 3.9 4.2 3.8 4.0 3.8 4.1 4.2
Central and South American 8.5 8.3 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.2 7.4 6.8 5.9 5.5 5.0 5.5 5.3 4.7 4.6 5.0 5.1 5.0 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.0 4.3 4.5 4.0 4.5 3.9
Other and unknown Hispanic 10.6 9.5 9.5 9.2 8.7 9.1 8.4 8.0 8.2 7.4 7.7 6.2 6.5 7.2 6.9 6.0 7.1 6.7 6.7 6.4 5.8 6.4 5.9 6.1 6.1 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.5 4.9
— Not available.
a Prior to 1995, rates are on a cohort basis. Beginning in 1995, rates are on a period basis. Data for 1995 onward are weighted to account for unmatched records.
b Race refers to mother's race. The 1977 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for data on race and ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four race groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. The revised OMB standards issued in 1997 permitted the option of selecting more than one race. Starting with 2003 data, some states reported multiple-race data for births and deaths according to the 1997 OMB standards. The multiple-race data for these states were bridged during the transition to the single-race categories of the 1977 OMB standards for comparability with other states. Beginning with 2017 data, the 1997 OMB standards were used to classify persons into one of the following five race groups: White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. All categories are single race. Due to the adoption of the 1997 OMB standards, data for 2017 onward are not strictly comparable with earlier data. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected and reported separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
c Data for 1983–2017 were bridged to the 1977 OMB race categories. In 2017, the 1997 OMB race categories were adopted. As a result, data for 2017 onward are shown separately for Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander race groups. Data for the combined Asian or Pacific Islander race group are not provided after 2016.
d Trends for the Hispanic population are affected by an expansion in the number of registration areas that included an item on Hispanic origin on the birth certificate. The number of states in the reporting area increased from 22 states in 1980 to 23 states and the District of Columbia (DC) in 1983–1987, 30 states and DC in 1988, 47 states and DC in 1989, 48 states and DC in 1990, 49 states and DC in 1991, and all 50 states and DC from 1993 onward.
NOTE: Infant deaths are deaths before an infant's first birthday. Rates for race groups from the National Linked Files of Live Births and Infant Deaths vary slightly from those obtained through unlinked infant death records using the National Vital Statistics System because the race reported on the death certificate sometimes does not match the race on the infant's birth certificate. Rates obtained from linked data (where race is obtained from the birth, rather than the death, certificate) are considered more reliable, but linked data are not available before 1983 and are not available for 1992–1994. Starting in 2003, infant mortality rates are reported to two decimal places in National Center for Health Statistics reports, so the rates reported here will vary from those in other reports. This difference in reporting could affect significance testing.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.