Cameroon's number of maternal deaths was 2,500 in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 34.21% from 3,800 in 2013 (4.1% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 2,500 | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 3,200 | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 3,800 | 2013 |
| Highest | 4,500 | 2007 |
| Lowest | 2,500 | 1985 |
| Average since 2014 | 3,160 | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 2,500 | 1985 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Cameroon's number of maternal deaths fell 3.8% on 2022 (from 2,600 to 2,500).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.4% and a typical year strayed about 5.3% 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 10.3% in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 18.8% in 2022. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 121.21 a year. A straight line explains 88% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 2,243 for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 158.18, against 333.33 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2023, Cameroon had the 18th 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 2,500 | 2023 |
| World | 260,000 | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 187,000 | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 151,000 | 2023 |
Closest to Cameroon in the 2023 ranking
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 | 2,500 |
| 2022 | 2,600 |
| 2021 | 3,200 |
| 2020 | 2,900 |
| 2019 | 3,100 |
| 2018 | 3,200 |
| 2017 | 3,400 |
| 2016 | 3,500 |
| 2015 | 3,600 |
| 2014 | 3,600 |
| 2013 |
Number of maternal deaths in nearby economies
- Angola — 2,500 (2023)
- Benin — 2,500 (2023)
- Botswana — 95 (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 1,800 (2023)
- Burundi — 1,800 (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 3 (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 Cameroon
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 14.86% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 15.25% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 6.09 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 40.66% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 6.19 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 41.58% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 12.29 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 41.12% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 13.72% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Cameroon's number of maternal deaths?
- 2,500 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1985?
- It is unchanged at from 2,500 in 1985. The highest value was 4,500 in 2007 and the lowest 2,500 in 1985.
- How does Cameroon rank?
- 18th highest of 194 economies with data for 2023.
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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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