Infant mortality higher in France than in neighboring countries

Whereas life expectancy in France is rising and mortality at extremely old ages decreasing, infant mortality rates are currently stagnating, a cause for concern. In 2022, France was in 23rd place among the 27 European Union member-states on infant mortality, a key indicator of perinatal healthcare quality and public health policies. That figure represents a sharp drop from the 1990s, when France’s infant mortality rate was among the lowest in the EU. INED senior researcher Magali Barbieri, writing in a “Recent Demographic Trends in France” article, analyses this development and probes its implications for public health policy.

France had long been exemplary in the area of perinatal health; today its position is declining and a cause for concern. Whereas in neighboring EU countries, infant mortality is still heading downwards, in France it is stagnating. The country’s 2022 infant mortality rate (death in the first year of life) reached 4.5 per 1000 (4.5‰) among boys and 3.7‰ among girls for France as a whole (4.3‰ and 3.6‰ in metropolitan France), as against an average of 3.5‰ and 3.0‰ in EU27. A dozen EU countries now show rates under 3‰ (see figure). Sweden’s overall infant mortality rate is 2.5‰—nearly half the figure for France. In the space of thirty years, France’s infant mortality situation has significantly deteriorated. In 1990, France was the top-ranking EU country for infant survival; twenty years later it was still in 8th place for boys and 10th for girls. But in 2022, it had plummeted to 24th place for boys and 22nd for girls. This development is due primarily to the fact that infant mortality in the country is no longer declining.

Mortality figures for young people aged 15-25 are better, but the stagnating infant mortality rate raises questions. While a recent study suggests that changes in how live birth is defined may have contributed to this unfavorable trend, other factors seem to be responsible as well. Medical factors and maternal health, regional and social inequality in access to healthcare and treatment, the quality of patient care—several hypotheses need to be explored in order to understand and halt this trend. 

Paradoxically, recent advances in neonatology may help explain the stagnation in infant mortality, as the situation is mainly due to increasing numbers of deaths during the first week after birth. In fact, improved care for extremely premature babies enables some newborns to survive a few hours or days before dying, whereas earlier, and in accordance with the French definition of the term, these babies would have been designated stillborn. This in turn mechanically increases the number of recorded infant deaths without implying a deterioration in care. 

As INED senior researcher Magali Barbieri states, “Stagnation in infant mortality in France contrasts with the progress observed elsewhere in Europe and constitutes a real challenge for our health system.”

INED is pursuing studies on this issue to analyze the dynamics involved and help guide decision-makers on what measures can be taken to improve the situation.

Source : Didier Breton, Nicolas Belliot, Magali Barbieri et al., 2024, L’évolution démographique récente de la France : Une position singulière dans l'Union européenne, Population (édition française) 79: [1-85]

Mise en ligne : mars 2025