Botswana: Maternal mortality ratio (national estimate, per 100,000 live births)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Botswana's maternal mortality ratio (national estimate, per 100,000 live births) rose 109.5 on 2020 (from 130.5 to 240).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was −1.81 and a typical year strayed about 28.88 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 109.5 in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 40.96 in 2012. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% 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.

Closest to Botswana in the 2021 ranking

• Suriname — 1st of 6: 288.37
• Dominican Republic — 3rd of 6: 139.7
• Peru — 4th of 6: 87.4
• St. Lucia — 5th of 6: 52.1

What this measures

Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births.

Limitations: Maternal mortality ratios are generally of unknown reliability, as are many other cause-specific mortality indicators. The ratios cannot be assumed to provide an exact estimate of maternal mortality. Maternal mortality ratios collected directly from Demographic and Health Surveys are presented in the survey year, but reference time of these maternal mortality ratios is for the seven years preceding the survey.

All 17 values

More health data for Botswana

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 11.53% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 11.86% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 406,270 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 31.6% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 412,499 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 32.32% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 818,769 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 31.96% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 10.46% (2025)

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Questions people ask

What is Botswana's maternal mortality ratio (national estimate, per 100,000 live births)?

240 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is up 52.19% from 157.7 in 2005 (2.66% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 240 in 2021 and the lowest 127 in 2015.

Is the latest change in maternal mortality ratio (national estimate, per 100,000 live births) unusual for Botswana?

In 2021, Botswana's maternal mortality ratio (national estimate, per 100,000 live births) rose 109.5 on 2020 (from 130.5 to 240). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2020), the average change was −1.81 and a typical year strayed about 28.88 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.MMRT.NE, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), World Health Organization (WHO), note: The country data compiled, adjusted and used in the estimation model by the Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). 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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