Fewer infants are dying in the United States, 2 percent fewer, but the rate is still high according to a government report that was made public on Wednesday. The rate is still higher than in other developed countries despite the fact that the United States have been spending more on health care than any other industrialized country.

In 2000, the infant death rate was of 6.89 deaths per 1,000 births and it remained virtually unchanged as in 2005 it was of 6.86 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate is a very important indicator as most specialists believe that it shows a country’s health and the quality of its medical system.

In 2004 (the latest year for which the government has available information), the United States ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality, on the same place with Poland and Slovakia. Our nation’s lowest infant mortality level was in 1960 when the U.S. ranked 12th.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the high rate of infant mortality is caused mainly by a 9 percent increase in premature births over the same period. The most encountered causes of infant mortality are premature birth and low birth weight.

The infant mortality rate is still high despite the fact that the United States are spending much more on wealth care than other countries. In 2006, Americans spent $6,714 per capita on health. The sum is double the average spend by other developed countries.

“Infant mortality and our comparison with the rest of the world continue to be an embarrassment to the United States,” said Grace-Marie Turner, president of the research organization called Galen Institute.