Botswana's number of maternal deaths was 95 in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 26.92% from 130 in 2013 (3.09% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 95 | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 59 | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 130 | 2013 |
| Highest | 170 | 2012 |
| Lowest | 27 | 2017 |
| Average since 2014 | 71.8 | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 140 | 1985 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Botswana's number of maternal deaths rose 28.4% on 2022 (from 74 to 95).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +2.2% and a typical year strayed about 31% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above 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 118.5% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 48.8% in 2016. 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 less than 1% 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, Botswana had the 80th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Botswana | 95 | 2023 |
| World | 260,000 | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 187,000 | 2023 |
| Upper middle income | 17,000 | 2023 |
Closest to Botswana in the 2023 ranking
- Honduras — 77th of 194: 110
- Namibia — 78th of 194: 110
- Syrian Arab Republic — 79th of 194: 110
- Equatorial Guinea — 81st of 194: 95
- Nicaragua — 82nd of 194: 80
- Paraguay — 83rd of 194: 80
What this measures
A maternal death refers to the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.
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 figures cannot be assumed to provide exact estimates.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 39 values
| Year | Number of maternal deaths |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 95 |
| 2022 | 74 |
| 2021 | 100 |
| 2020 | 59 |
| 2019 | 60 |
| 2018 | 59 |
| 2017 | 27 |
| 2016 | 42 |
| 2015 | 82 |
| 2014 | 120 |
| 2013 | 130 |
Number of maternal deaths in nearby economies
- Angola — 2,500 (2023)
- Benin — 2,500 (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 1,800 (2023)
- Burundi — 1,800 (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 3 (2023)
- Cameroon — 2,500 (2023)
- Central African Republic — 1,700 (2023)
- Chad — 6,100 (2023)
- Comoros — 44 (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 19,000 (2023)
- Congo, Rep. — 460 (2023)
- Côte d'Ivoire
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)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Botswana's number of maternal deaths?
- 95 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1985?
- It is down 32.14% from 140 in 1985 (1.02% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 170 in 2012 and the lowest 27 in 2017.
- How does Botswana rank?
- 80th highest of 194 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in number of maternal deaths unusual for Botswana?
- In 2023, Botswana's number of maternal deaths rose 28.4% on 2022 (from 74 to 95). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +2.2% and a typical year strayed about 31% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above 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.MMR.DTHS, 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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