Chennai district registered 292 infant deaths, 130 stillbirths and 33 maternal deaths in 2022, according to the Tamil Nadu Statistical Hand Book 2022-23. Across the state, the counts were 9,362 infant deaths, 4,155 stillbirths and 479 maternal deaths.
Those are registered events, and in Chennai they carry a strong hospital effect. This piece sets the raw counts beside Tamil Nadu’s survey-based rates for infant mortality and life expectancy, and explains why the two kinds of number must not be mixed.
Registered infant, stillbirth and maternal deaths, 2022
The Vital Statistics chapter of the handbook, compiled from the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, lists every district.
| District (2022) | Infant deaths | Stillbirths | Maternal deaths | Births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 292 | 130 | 33 | 1,00,196 |
| Tiruvallur | 305 | 165 | 14 | 19,238 |
| Chengalpattu | 247 | 129 | 15 | 30,128 |
| Kancheepuram | 154 | 69 | 10 | 11,448 |
| Tamil Nadu | 9,362 | 4,155 | 479 | 9,36,837 |
Look at Tiruvallur: it registered more infant deaths than Chennai while registering less than a fifth as many births. That pattern is a clue to how the registers work, covered below.
Why you cannot divide these into a Chennai rate
Under the Civil Registration System, the Registrar General’s 2022 report notes, births and deaths are registered where they happen. Chennai’s maternity hospitals deliver babies for families from across the metropolitan region, which inflates its birth count. But an infant who dies at home in a suburb, or in a hospital outside the city, is registered elsewhere. Dividing Chennai’s 292 infant deaths by its 1,00,196 births would give a figure far below any credible infant mortality rate, and dividing Tiruvallur’s would give one far above.
The CRS report also recorded 1,42,771 infant deaths registered across India in 2022, only 1.7% of all registered deaths, a reminder that registration of infant deaths is incomplete in many states. For rates, use the Sample Registration System (SRS) or NFHS, which are designed to measure them.
Tamil Nadu’s infant mortality rate over time
The SRS is a large continuous survey run by the Registrar General. The handbook reproduces its infant mortality rate (IMR) for Tamil Nadu, measured as deaths in the first year of life per 1,000 live births.
| Year | TN urban | TN combined | India combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 22 | 24 | 47 |
| 2012 | 18 | 21 | 42 |
| 2014 | 16 | 20 | 39 |
| 2016 | 14 | 17 | 34 |
| 2018 | 12 | 15 | 32 |
| 2020 | 10 | 13 | 28 |
The handbook’s 2019 row prints values out of line with the rest of the series, so it is left out here, and it lists SRS data from 2021 onwards as not yet published in that edition. The urban column is the closest proxy for a city like Chennai; SRS does not publish district rates.
The NFHS-5 state fact sheet (2019-21) gives similar survey estimates for Tamil Nadu: an IMR of 14.9, down from 20.2 in NFHS-4 (2015-16); a neonatal mortality rate of 8.5, down from 14.0; and an under-five mortality rate of 17.3, down from 26.8.
Life expectancy in Tamil Nadu
The same handbook carries SRS-based life expectancy at birth, in five-year bands.
| Period | TN men | TN women | India men | India women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-1991 | 57.4 | 58.5 | 55.9 | 55.9 |
| 2006-2010 | 67.1 | 70.9 | 64.6 | 67.7 |
| 2011-2015 | 69.1 | 73.0 | 66.9 | 70.0 |
| 2016-2020 | 71.0 | 75.5 | 68.6 | 71.4 |
A girl born in Tamil Nadu in 2016-2020 could expect to live about 4.5 years longer than a boy, and about four years longer than the average Indian woman. In 1951-1961 the state’s figure was 41.09 years for men and 39.24 for women, so life expectancy has risen by more than three decades.
Where Chennai fits
Chennai has near-universal hospital delivery: NFHS-5 recorded 100% institutional births in the district. That matters because large tertiary hospitals in the city treat patients from other districts, including complicated pregnancies. Because registration follows the place of death, the 33 maternal deaths registered in Chennai in 2022 may include women who lived elsewhere; the handbook does not say how many. That is another reason not to read the count as a Chennai-only rate.
Expectant mothers with warning signs such as bleeding, severe headache or swelling should go to the nearest government hospital or call 108 for an ambulance; your doctor can advise on antenatal check-ups.
Quick answers
How many infant deaths were registered in Chennai in 2022?
292, along with 130 stillbirths and 33 maternal deaths, per the state handbook.
What is Tamil Nadu’s infant mortality rate?
13 per 1,000 live births in SRS 2020 (10 in urban areas), and 14.9 in NFHS-5 (2019-21).
What is life expectancy in Tamil Nadu?
71.0 years for men and 75.5 years for women in 2016-2020, per SRS.
Is there a Chennai-only infant mortality rate?
Not from SRS. Registered counts reflect where deaths occur, so they cannot be turned into a reliable district rate.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Statistical Hand Book of Tamil Nadu 2022-23, Chapter 2: Vital Statistics (Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Tamil Nadu)
- Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System 2022 (Office of the Registrar General, India)
- Compendium of NFHS-5 (2019-21) State and District Fact Sheets, Tamil Nadu (IIPS and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, via OpenCity)
