Albania is the country with the most negative balance of infant mortality on the continent

Graph of infant mortality number for each year, 2014 - 2020

 Fewer babies are being born in Albania, while infant mortality continues to remain at high and alarming levels. Last year, according to data from the State Institute of Statistics, 281 children lost their lives before reaching the age of 1, while taken at the level of the last 7 years, the figure goes to 1871.

In other words,10 babies end up in fatality for every 1 thousand births, a ratio that fluctuates and increases from year to year. (graph infant mortality for every 1 thousand births in Albania 2014-2020).

In terms of gender, male babies are most at risk of losing their lives before reaching the age of 1 year. But what are the main reasons leading to infant death? "It also matters the age of the mother, treatment, nutrition, consumption of nicotine, alcohol, which lead to premature birth", says Entela Rexhepi, a gynecologist.

In Albania, more babies lose their lives than in any country in the region. The fatality rate for every 1,000 births is 10, followed by Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro.

In fact, the country has the highest infant mortality on the continent. In the European Union, the average infant mortality is at the level of 3.4 life loss per 1 thousand births, a figure 3 times lower than in Albania. Infant mortality, one of the key indicators of measuring the quality of health services and the economic and social situation of the country.