Gujaratwith 12,119 infant deaths was ranked second from bottom in the country, only better than Maharashtra with 13,807 deaths.
This was the fourth consecutive year when the state was ranked among the bottom five in the country.
The Union Government in its report ‘Vital Statistics of India based on The Civil Registration System-2020’ has stated that in 2020, the state accounted for 8.5% of the total infant deaths in the country. The total infant deaths in the country in 2020 was 1.43 lakh.The Gujarat Health department officials said that in 2020 there was a decline of 22% as compared to 2019. In 2019, 15,602 infant deaths were reported in the state. This was more than the decline in the death across the county where the decline in infant deaths was 13.24%. However, the infant deaths in Gujarat were more than Rajasthan (11,187), Madhya Pradesh (11,585), Uttar Pradesh (10,726), and Bihar (2,299).
The data reveals that of the 12,119 deaths, 1,845 were in rural areas, and of these 1,066 were males. The remaining 10,274 deaths were in urban areas – 6,063 males and 4,211 females.