Bhutan's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) was 98.9% in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 28.9 percentage points from 70% in 2011.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 98.9% | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | 89% | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | 70% | 2011 |
| Highest | 99.3% | 2020 |
| Lowest | 12% | 1994 |
| Average since 2012 | 91.77% | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 12% | 1994 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Bhutan's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) fell 0.4 percentage points on 2020 (from 99.3% to 98.9%).
Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was +3.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 14.4 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.1 percentage points in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.16 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 78% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2021, Bhutan had the 15th highest value of the 20 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 Bhutan in the 2021 ranking
- Singapore — 12th of 20: 99.6%
- Finland — 13th of 20: 99.5%
- Norway — 14th of 20: 99.2%
- Slovak Republic — 16th of 20: 98%
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 17th of 20: 97.1%
- Peru — 18th of 20: 94.9%
What this measures
Births attended by skilled health staff are the percentage of deliveries attended by personnel trained to give the necessary supervision, care, and advice to women during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period; to conduct deliveries on their own; and to care for newborns.
Limitations: For the indicators that are from household surveys, the year refers to the survey year. For more information, consult the original sources.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 20 values
| Year | Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 98.9 |
| 2020 | 99.3 |
| 2019 | 96.3 |
| 2018 | 96.2 |
| 2017 | 96.4 |
| 2016 | 89 |
| 2015 | 89 |
| 2014 | 89 |
| 2013 | 89 |
| 2012 | 74.6 |
| 2011 |
Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) in nearby economies
- Bangladesh — 59% (2019)
- Maldives — 99.5% (2017)
- Nepal — 77.2% (2019)
More health data for Bhutan
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 6.43% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.86% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 78,275 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 21.09% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 83,938 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 19.73% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 162,213 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 20.36% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 6.61% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Bhutan's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total)?
- 98.9% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1994?
- It is up 86.9 percentage points from 12% in 1994. The highest value was 99.3% in 2020 and the lowest 12% in 1994.
- How does Bhutan rank?
- 15th highest of 20 economies with data for 2021.
- Is the latest change in births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) unusual for Bhutan?
- In 2021, Bhutan's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) fell 0.4 percentage points on 2020 (from 99.3% to 98.9%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was +3.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.BRTC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: State of the World's Children, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF); Childinfo, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF); Demographic and Health Surveys, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program 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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