Mohammad Al-Ubaydli’s blog

Some shocking numbers from the IMF’s recent report on Iraq, as quoted in the Economist:

Infant mortality is over 10% of live births, compared with 3% in neighbouring Jordan; and 193 out of every 100,000 births in Iraq end with the mother dying, against 41 in Jordan.

That means 10 out of every hundred children born in Iraq will die within their first year. Jordan is supposed to be the healthier country, with 3%, but I still find this depressingly high.

The very wonderful NationMater has the league table along with a map. Bahrain’s rate is 1.7% while the USA is 0.65% and UK 0.52%. It is worth scrolling down the bottom of the page to see the debate on the reasons for the USA’s high rate give its developed world status.