From the average values, the sequence of the causes of death in children under 5 years of age in urban areas was as follows: other causes (54.46%), BA (17.83%), PBU (17.11%), pneumonia (9.41%) and diarrhoea (1.18%). The sequence of the causes of death in children under the age of 5 years in rural areas was as follows: other causes (47.67%), PBU (17.36%), pneumonia (16.59%), BA (14.24%) and diarrhoea (4.43%) (Fig. 5).Fig. 5Disparity trends in causes of death of children under the age of 5 years between urban and rural areas in China from 2000 to 2013