Infant deaths dipped by 10 per cent in Oman last year

Muscat: Oman recorded a 10 per cent drop in the number of infant deaths last year, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information.
The Statistical Yearbook of the NCSI reported that 762 infants died shortly after birth in hospitals in Oman during 2018, compared to 850 infant deaths in 2017.
Of the infants who died - 399 male and 363 female - the vast majority were Omani, which reflects the fact that far more Omanis are born in the country.
During 2018, there were 89,071 live births in Oman, of whom 82,941 were Omani and only 6,130 were expat children.
The infant mortality rate, which compares the number of infant deaths with the number of live births has also decreased, going from 9.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017 to 8.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018.
Children are also healthier as toddlers, as fewer children have lost their lives under the age of five. According to the NCSI, the ‘under-five mortality rate’ per 1,000 live births has decreased from 11.4 deaths in 2017 to 11.1 deaths in 2018.