An analysis of infant mortality in China
Weng, S.; Wang, S.
Chinese Journal of Population Science 5(1): 75-81
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 1044-8403 PMID: 12345193 Document Number: 335816
The State Family Planning Commission sample survey on fertility and contraception conducted in 1988 among two thousandths of the population was further sampled covering 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in mainland China. China's infant mortality rate (IMR) during 1975-1988 was assessed. The IMR in China declined during 1975-1987 at an annual rate of 3.12%. IMR declined from 62.9/1000 live births to 36.6/1000 among males and from 45.6/1000 to 35.2/1000 among females. In urban areas the male IMR was 35.08/1000 in 1975 and 21.73/1000 in 1987, while the female IMR was 33.24/1000 in 1975 and 23.25/1000 in 1987. In rural areas the male IMR was 68.32/1000 in 1975 and 39.64/1000 in 1987, while the female IMR was 48.14/1000 in 1975 and 38.07/1000 in 1987. The IMR was substantially higher among infants whose parents engaged in agricultural work than among those parents were workers or civil servants. The IMR was approximately 50% lower among HAN people than among ethnic minorities. The IMR was substantially higher among infants whose mothers were illiterates than among infants whose mothers were high school graduates. The IMR of those who were the second child in a family tended to be higher than the IMR of those who were the first child, and the IMR of those who were the first or second child. The IMR was the lowest among infants whose mothers gave birth at the age of 25-29, followed by infants whose mothers gave birth at the age of 20-24 and 30-34. The second level of IMR (20-50/1000) was predominant in China. IMR was high in southwestern, northwestern, and central-southern China, probably attributable to the lower levels of economic and educational development and inadequate health care. The remarkable drop of IMR between 1975 and 1987 demonstrated the improvement of economy, education, and health care. In 1980, the IMR was 97/1000 for the world, 20/1000 among developed countries, and 110/1000 among developing countries.