India topped the global list of the number of babies born on New Year’s Day, said a new report.

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Up to 67,385 Indian babies were born on January 1, 2020, according to UNICEF. India was followed by China with an estimated 46,299 children. The UNICEF report said at least 3,92,078 babies were born on January 1, 2020.

India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2027, a report by the United Nations had said last July.

India had topped the list in 2019 too with 70,000 births on the first day of the year. Up to 3,95,000 babies were born last year on January 1, according to UNICEF.

The report, which was published by UNICEF on Wednesday, said that more than half of the total births on January 1, 2020, were estimated to take place in eight countries. Besides India and China, these eight countries included Nigeria with 26,039 births, Pakistan with 16,787, Indonesia with 13,020, the US with 10,452, Congo with 10,247 and Ethiopia with 8,493.

The report added that Fiji in the Pacific most likely had the first baby to be delivered on the first day of 2020, while the US had the last.

“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.

However, UNICEF said that for millions of newborns around the world, the day of their birth is far less auspicious.

Up to 2.5 million newborns died in just their first month of life in 2018, said the UNICEF report, adding that about a third of them on the first day of life.

"Among those children, most died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis," it said. Over 2.5 million babies are born dead each year, added the report.

As per the report, babies dying in the first month accounted for 47 percent of all deaths among children under five in 2018, up from 40 percent in 1990.

“Too many mothers and newborns are not being cared for by a trained and equipped midwife or nurse, and the results are devastating,” added Fore.

First Published:Jan 2, 2020 11:49 AM IST