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INFANT MORTALITY OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS

The survival of infants in their first year of life is commonly viewed as an indicator of the general health and wellbeing of a population¹. Infant mortality refers to deaths of children under one year of age, and is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR). IMRs indicate the level of infant deaths in a calendar year per 1,000 live births in the same calendar year. In 2004 there were 1,200 infant deaths registered in Australia.

Over the last 100 years Australia's infant mortality has decreased dramatically (graph 5.33). In 1904, almost 82 infants out of every 1,000 live born babies died before their first birthday. By 2004 this had declined to 5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. This decline largely reflects improvements in pre and post-natal care, improved sanitation, the decline in infectious diseases, drug development, and improved birth conditions¹.

The improvement in the IMR has been a major contributor to increased life expectancy at birth. A baby born in the period 1901-10 was 18 times more likely to die before its first birthday than a baby born during 2002-04. Males born in 1901-10 had a life expectancy of 23 years less than males born in 2002-04 (78.1 years). For females, life expectancy in 1901-10 was 24 years less than for females born in 2002-04 (83.0 years).

Males typically experience higher IMRs than females. This is attributed mostly to biological and genetic factors¹. Males in Australia have consistently recorded higher IMRs to females (graph 5.33). Australia's male IMR declined from 62 infant deaths per 1,000 births in 1924 to 5 infant deaths in 2004. Similarly, the female IMR declined from 52 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 4 infant deaths, over the same period.

5.34 INFANT MORTALITY RATES, By state and territory
	2002		2003		2004
	Infant deaths	IMR(a)	Infant deaths	IMR(a)	Infant deaths	IMR(a)
New South Wales	397	4.6	398	4.6	399	4.6
Victoria	305	5.0	309	5.1	282	4.5
Queensland	277	5.8	230	4.8	262	5.2
South Australia	90	5.1	65	3.7	54	3.2
Western Australia	102	4.3	100	4.1	99	3.9
Tasmania	37	6.2	40	7.0	21	3.6
Northern Territory	42	11.3	32	8.4	38	10.7
Australian Capital Territory	14	3.4	24	5.8	29	6.9
Australia(b)	1,264	5.0	1,199	4.8	1,184	4.7
(a) Infant deaths per 1,000 live births. (b) Includes Other Territories. Other Territories comprise Jervis Bay Territory, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Source: Deaths, Australia, 2004 (3302.0).

5.35 INFANT MORTALITY RATES(a)(b), By Indigenous origin(c)
		New South Wales	Queensland	South Australia	Western Australia	Northern Territory(d)
Indigenous persons
	1999-2001	10.9	11.7	8.0	16.6	19.2
	2002-04	8.5	10.9	9.4	14.1	15.4
Total persons
	1999-2001	5.4	5.9	4.5	4.7	11.4
	2002-04	4.6	5.3	4.0	4.1	10.1
(a) Infant deaths per 1,000 live births. (b) Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory not included due to poor coverage rates or small numbers of Indigenous infant deaths. (c) Deaths for whom Indigenous status was not specified have not been prorated over Indigenous and non-Indigenous deaths. As a result, Indigenous and non-Indigenous infant mortality rates may be underestimated. (d) Contribution of Indigenous deaths to total deaths is much larger in the Northern Territory than in other states.
Source: Deaths, Australia, 2004 (3302.0).