Global Subnational Distribution of Infant Mortality Rates

Dara Mendeloff , Columbia University
Susana Beatriz Adamo, Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University
Marc Levy, Columbia University
Alex de Sherbinin, Columbia University

This paper presents the rationale, methodology and data used to construct the 2015 Global Subnational Infant Mortality Rates (IMR). The dataset compiles IMR data for 234 countries and territories, 143 of which include subnational units. The data are benchmarked to the year 2015, and are drawn from National Statistical Offices (NSOs), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and other sources. Boundary inputs are derived primarily from the Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4). National and subnational data are mapped to grid cells at a spatial resolution of 30 arc-seconds (~1 km) allowing for easy integration with demographic, environmental, and other spatial data. This IMR dataset has many potential applications not only for the study of the geographic distribution of infant mortality within countries, but also as a proxy for the analysis of poverty and living conditions, in conjunction with environmental or other geographical factors.

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 Presented in Session 61. Geographic Patterns of Morbidity and Mortality