Croatia has continued to see a decline in infant mortality, with the most common cause of death in infants being pathological conditions relating to pregnancy, according to the data from the Croatian Public Health Institute.

The infant mortality rate in 2021 stood at 3.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, down from 4.0 in 2020. A total of 137 infants died in 2021, compared with 142 in 2020.

According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the average infant mortality rate for EU-27 was 3.3 in 2020. The lowest rates were recorded in Finland (1.0) and Estonia (1.4) and the highest in Romania (5.6), Slovakia (5.1) and Bulgaria (5.1).

The causes of infant deaths in Croatia are similar to those in other developed countries, the most common being pathological conditions relating to pregnancy or birth (53.3%) and congenital malformation (34.3%). The death rate during this period has also been on the decline — 2.0 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 and 2.5 in 2020.

Of the 137 infants who died in 2021, 95 died from pathological conditions relating to premature birth, complications with the placenta, umbilical cord or membrane, and chromosomopathy. The other common causes included congenital heart defects, pneumonia, bacterial sepsis and sudden infant death syndrome.

Most infant deaths occur in the early neonatal period of 0 to 6 days of life, in which 72 children (52%) died in 2021.

In 2021 the highest infant mortality rate was recorded in Lika-Senj County (10.1) and the lowest in Istria County (1.2).