New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS): India is estimated to have welcomed 18 per cent of the total babies born globally on January 1, 2019, UNICEF said on Tuesday.

According to the UNICEF, 69,944 babies were expected to be born on the New Year Day out of 3,95,072 babies likely to be born across the world.

As per UNICEF, globally over half of these births are estimated to taken place in seven countries, along with India like China (44,940), Nigeria (25,685), Pakistan (15,112), Indonesia (13,256), the US (11,086), Democratic Republic of Congo (10,053), and Bangladesh (8,428).

Sydney was set to greet an estimated 168 babies, followed by Tokyo (310), Beijing (605), Madrid (166) and finally, New York (317). Fiji in the Pacific was likely to deliver 2019's first baby and the US its last.

"This New Year Day, let's all make a resolution to fulfill every right of every girl and boy, starting with the right to survive. We can save millions of babies if we invest in training and equipping local health workers so that every newborn is born into a safe pair of hands," said Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF India Representative, said.