Pakistan is the riskiest country to be born in, with one in 22 babies born there dying before they turn one month old, according to a Unicef report released on Tuesday. India’s neonatal mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) is 25.4, which ranks it at 12 among 52 “lower middle-income countries” in terms of risk for newborns. While this is better than Pakistan, it is far behind India’s less prosperous neighbours. In the same ‘lower middle-income’ countries group as India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka has the lowest neonatal mortality rate of 5.2, which is comparable with high-income countries. Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan are also ahead of India in neonatal survival.

Pakistan is the riskiest country to be born in, with one in 22 babies born there dying before they turn one month old, according to a Unicef report released on Tuesday. India’s neonatal mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) is 25.4, which ranks it at 12 among 52 “lower middle-income countries” in terms of risk for newborns. While this is better than Pakistan, it is far behind India’s less prosperous neighbours. In the same ‘lower middle-income’ countries group as India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka has the lowest neonatal mortality rate of 5.2, which is comparable with high-income countries. Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan are also ahead of India in neonatal survival.