Activity 2:    Infant Mortality Rates           

One way of measuring how rich a country is to measure  its infant mortality rates and compare it with others.  The Infant Morality rate is always measured per 1,000 live births.  So, for example, an Infant mortality rate of 2.5 means that for every 1,000 live births, 2.5 babies (on average) will not survive to be a year old. An infant Mortality rate of 8, means that for every 1,000 live births, 8 babies will not survive their first birthday.   The lower the number the better in terms of the number of babies who survive.

Look at the countries listed below.  Spend a couple of minutes thinking about which countries you think would have the highest and lowest Infant mortality rates and put them in order.

United Kingdom             Germany                 Angola                   Gaza (Palestine)

Sweden                           Spain                     Singapore              Cuba         

Australia                         United States         South Africa          Rwanda