Facts and Figures

The following are key figures on births, perinatal deaths, and sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) in Australia.

The latest data available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on births and SUDI is for 2018.

The latest data for perinatal deaths is for 2018 and is provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

There were approximately 2,850 perinatal deaths in 2018, including 737 neonatal deaths (deaths within 28 days of birth) and 2,118 stillbirths (2).

In 2018 there were 93 deaths classified as sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), which includes sudden infant death and fatal sleeping accidents (a rate of 0.3 deaths per 1,000 births) (3).

85 children aged 0-4 years died from injury and poisoning (a rate of 5.4 per 1,000) (5).

From 1989 to 2018, the rate of SUDI deaths in Australia has decreased by 85% – equating to 10,857 babies saved since risk reduction campaigns were introduced (6,7).

References:

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019). 3301.0 - Births, Australia. ABS, Canberra.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019). Australia’s mothers and babies 2017—in brief. Perinatal statistics series no. 31. Cat no. PER 72. Canberra: AIHW.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019). 3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2018. ABS, Canberra
Explanatory note from the ABS: “Data with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components”
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019). GRIM (General Record of Incidence of Mortality) Books 2017: All external causes of morbidity and mortality. Canberra: AIHW. Note: Data for all external causes of mortality are from the ICD-10 (V01-Y98).
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003). SIDS in Australia 1981-2000: A statistical overview. ABS, Canberra & Australian Bureau of Statistics (2001-).3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2001-. ABS, Canberra
Includes calculations prepared by Red Nose and confirmed by the ABS.