section_path: Health/Child mortality
section_name: Child mortality
paragraph_text: Child mortality
  
  During the early 17th century in England, about two-thirds of all children died before the age of four. During the Industrial Revolution, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically. This has continued in England, and in the 21st century child mortality rates have fallen across the world. About 12.6 million under-five infants died worldwide in 1990, which declined to 6.6 million in 2012. The infant mortality rate dropped from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990, to 48 in 2012. The highest average infant mortality rates are in sub-Saharan Africa, at 98 deaths per 1,000 live births – over double the world's average.