Infant deaths by borough

What does this map show?

The map looks at infant mortality - deaths of children aged under 1. We combine five years' data to get a more accurate picture. The figure is expressed as a rate per 1,000.

Southwark, Croydon, Haringey and Harrow have the highest rates of infant mortality in London. In all four boroughs around 6 in every 1,000 babies die within their first year. This is twice as high as the rates in Kingston and Richmond.

All the Inner West boroughs have below average rates for London. Nine of the boroughs with above average rates are in Outer London.

The overall figure for London is, at 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, very close to the England average. While the variation is sizeable in London, the total numbers are small. Moreover, they appear to be falling. In the three most recent years of data, there were an average of 550 deaths of infants under the age of one each year compared to around 600 per year at the beginning of the last decade.

Data used

ONS average for 2008 to 2009

The incidence of infant mortality is very small - the figures above are per thousand - so several years data are combined to give an estimate. For instance, in 2007, there were fewer than 10 infant deaths in seven London boroughs.

Indicator last updated: 21 February 2012