New Delhi: With almost 19,000 children under five years of age dyingevery day across the world, India tops the list of countries with the highestnumber of 16.55 lakh such deaths in 2011, according to a UN agency.
The 'Child Mortality Estimates Report 2012' released by Unicef in New York hassaid that in 2011, around 50 per cent of global under-five deaths occurred injust five countries of India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,Pakistan and China.
Incidentally, India's toll is higher than the deaths inNigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan put together.
While there have been 7.56 lakh deaths in Nigeria during the last year,Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for 4.65 lakh deaths and Pakistan3.52 lakh deaths of under-five children during 2011.
China reported 2.49 lakh deaths of under-5 kids last year, followed by 1.94lakh by Ethiopia and 1.34 lakh each by Indonesia and Bangladesh. Uganda with1.31 lakh such deaths and Afghanistan with 1.28 lakh deaths held the ninth and10th position in the list of 10 top countries reporting under-five childrendeaths.
Singapore with a mortality rate of 2.6 has the lowest under-five deaths, whileSlovenia and Sweden followed it with a mortality of 2.8.
The Unicef report also states that globally Pneumonia is the leading killer ofchildren under five, causing 18 per cent of all under-five deaths worldwide - aloss of roughly 1.3 million lives in 2011, the bulk of which occur in just tworegions, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Globally, the five leading causes of deaths among children under five includepneumonia (18 per cent); pre-term birth complications (14 per cent); diarrhoea(11 per cent); intrapartum-related complications (9 per cent) and malaria (7per cent).
Besides, more than a third of child deaths are attributable to undernutritionglobally, the report states.