Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday claimed that the state fares much better than the United States of America on various social indicators, like maternal and infant mortality rates, and termed it as "the real Kerala story".Vijayan, speaking after announcing the eradication of extreme poverty from the state at a public event here, said that it was a fact that Kerala's infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate are lower than those in the US."This is no small achievement. How did our state, with a GDP of just USD 167.90 billion, surpass the economic giant with a GDP of USD 30.51 trillion? We only have 0.55 percent of their GDP. Yet we managed to surpass America. This is the 'real Kerala story'," he said.Vijayan said that 22.3 mothers lose their lives per 100,000 births in the United States, while in Kerala it is 18."In Kerala, there are five infant deaths per thousand births. In the United States, it is 5.6. While Kerala is far ahead with a literacy rate of
Kerala fares better than US on various social indicators: CM Vijayan
