DOHA: Qatar has made significant progress in reducing the infant mortality rate, according to a report released recently by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.
The Infant mortality rate come down from 10.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 7.6 in 2011, says the report — Qatar-Social Statistics 2003-2012.
Infant mortality rate measures the number of deaths of infants under one year of age in relation to total births.
The neonatal morality rate has also come down from 7.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 4.4 in 2011.
Neonatal morality refers to the number of infant deaths during the first 28 days of life.
However, the fertility rate among women has reduced between 2003 and 2011, according to statistics. Total fertility rate per woman is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime.
The report shows a gradual decline in fertility rate from 4.1 for Qatari female in 2003 to 3.4 in 2011, while it reduced for non-Qatari women from 2.6 in 2003 to 1.9 in 2011.
Meanwhile, the number of births increased during between 2003 and 2011, but the crude birth rate — the number of live births per 1,000 persons in a given year has reduced regularly, from 18.3 in 2003 to 11.3 in 2009, then it has increased from 2010, to 11.4, reaching 11.9 in 2011.
According to statistics, 1,949 deaths were reported in 2011, of which 673 were Qataris and 1,276 were non-Qataris.
The deaths have reduced remarkably between 2003 and 2011, as from 1.8 per 1,000 people in 2003 to 1.1 per 1,000 people in 2011.
Statistical data indicated that the proportion of deaths caused by tumours was 7.5 percent in 2003; in subsequent years, there was a gradual increase in the rate of deaths from tumours to reach 9.9 percent in 2011. Deaths caused by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases were 10.1 percent of all deaths in 2003, compared to 7.4 percent
in 2011.
Deaths due to circulatory system diseases declined from 17.9 percent in 2003 to 13.6 percent in 2011.
As for respiratory diseases, deaths increased from 2.7 percent in 2003 to 4.0 percent in 2007. The rate of deaths from external causes increased to 21.6 percent in 2011. The Peninsula
