Belgium: Lifetime risk of maternal death (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Belgium's lifetime risk of maternal death (%) fell 0.01 percentage points on 2022 (from 0.01% to 0.00467%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 8.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.01 percentage points in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 6% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Belgium had the 180th highest value of the 194 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Belgium in the 2023 ranking

• Denmark — 177th of 194: 0.00499%
• Ireland — 178th of 194: 0.00498%
• Greece — 179th of 194: 0.00495%
• Germany — 181st of 194: 0.00462%
• Iceland — 182nd of 194: 0.00446%
• Slovenia — 183rd of 194: 0.00417%

What this measures

Life time risk of maternal death is the probability that a 15-year-old female will die eventually from a maternal cause assuming that current levels of fertility and mortality (including maternal mortality) do not change in the future, taking into account competing causes of death.

Limitations: The methodology differs from that used for previous estimates, so data should not be compared historically. Maternal mortality ratios are generally of unknown reliability, as are many other cause-specific mortality indicators. The probability cannot be assumed to provide an exact estimate of risk of maternal death.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 39 values

Lifetime risk of maternal death (%) in nearby economies

• Albania — 0.00909% (2023)
• Andorra — 0.0092% (2023)
• Armenia — 0.03% (2023)
• Austria — 0.00719% (2023)
• Azerbaijan — 0.03% (2023)
• Belarus — 0.00104% (2023)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 0.00678% (2023)
• Bulgaria — 0.00725% (2023)
• Croatia — 0.00359% (2023)
• Cyprus — 0.02% (2023)
• Czechia

More health data for Belgium

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 4.52% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 4.86% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 916,596 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 15.15% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 958,723 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 16.27% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 1.88 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 15.7% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.1% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Belgium's lifetime risk of maternal death (%)?

0.00467% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is down 0.00827 percentage points from 0.01% in 1985. The highest value was 0.01% in 2022 and the lowest 0.00467% in 2023.

How does Belgium rank?

180th highest of 194 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in lifetime risk of maternal death (%) unusual for Belgium?

In 2023, Belgium's lifetime risk of maternal death (%) fell 0.01 percentage points on 2022 (from 0.01% to 0.00467%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 8.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.MMR.RISK.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO); UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), note: Trends in Maternal Mortality; UN Population Fund (UNFPA), note: Trends in Maternal Mortality; World Bank Group (WBG), note: Trends in Maternal Mortality Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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