Of the estimated 52 million deaths worldwide in 1996, about 40 million were in the developing world, including nearly nine million in the least developed countries. Of the 40 million deaths in the developing world in 1996, more than 17 million were due to infectious and parasitic diseases. Studies indicate that these diseases continue to predominate among the disadvantaged. Out of a total of 11.2 million deaths among children under five in the developing world in 1995, around five million were due to neonatal and perinatal causes and at least six million were associated with malnutrition.