New Year’s Babies: Over 10,000 babies will be born in the U.S. on New Year’s Day – UNICEF

NEW YORK, (January 1, 2020) – As the start of 2020 brings about new beginnings and celebrations, the United States of America expects to welcome nearly 10,452 newborns on New Year’s Day, announced UNICEF – the global children’s humanitarian organization. This number accounts for nearly 2.7 percent of the estimated 392,078 babies that will be born around the world on New Year’s Day and one of the top countries for New Year’s births.

“The beginning of a new year and a new decade is an opportunity to reflect on our hopes and aspirations not only for our future, but the future of those who will come after us,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “As the calendar flips each January, we are reminded of all the possibility and potential of each child embarking on her or his life’s journey—if they are just given that chance.”

Fiji in the Pacific will most likely deliver 2020’s first baby while the United States will likely be last. Globally, over half of these January 1 births are estimated to take place in eight countries:

Each January, UNICEF celebrates babies born on New Year’s Day, an auspicious day for childbirth around the world. Babies born today share their birthday with U.S. icons such as Betsy Ross, American Revolutionary icon, Paul Revere and American novelist J.D. Salinger.

For millions of newborns around the world, the day of their birth is far less auspicious. In 2018, about 1 million babies died the day they were born, and 2.5 million in just their first month of life. Among those children, most died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery and infections like sepsis and pneumonia.

Over the past three decades, the world has seen remarkable progress in child survival, cutting the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday by more than half. But there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month account for 47 per cent of all deaths among children under five.

UNICEF’s Every Child Alive campaign calls for immediate investment in health workers with the right training, who are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn is cared for by a safe pair of hands to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth.

“As a mother, and for the future of children around the world, my greatest hope is that we live to see a day where all babies are given a healthy and happy start at life,” said Anucha Browne, Chief Engagement, Advocacy and Global Programs Officer at UNICEF USA. “New Year’s Day is a reminder of all that we are fortunate for and also serves as a reminder of all that we hope to achieve for newborns everywhere in 2020.”

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Notes to Editors
For complete un-rounded estimates on births for 190 countries, click here.

For the data, UNICEF worked with the World Data Lab. The estimates for the number of babies born on 1 January 2020 draw on the latest revision of the UN’s World Population Prospects (2019). Building on these datasets, World Data Lab’s (WDL) algorithm projects estimates of the number of births for each day by country.

To download photos to accompany this story, click here.

About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, safe water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. UNICEF USA supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For more information, contact
Nina Marie Costa, UNICEF USA, 212.922.2581, nmcosta@unicefusa.org