Chile: Lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Chile's lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country) rose 27.3% on 2022 (from 7,278 to 9,268).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +7.9% and a typical year strayed about 4.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 27.3% in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 5% in 2021. 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 upward, about 471.88 a year. A straight line explains 87% 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 9,650 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 859.74, against 1,183 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, Chile had the 43rd 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 Chile in the 2023 ranking

• France — 40th of 194: 9,984
• Kuwait — 41st of 194: 9,387
• New Zealand — 42nd of 194: 9,363
• Russian Federation — 44th of 194: 9,237
• Ukraine — 45th of 194: 9,109
• United Kingdom — 46th of 194: 8,751

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 (1 in: rate varies by country) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 2,108 (2023)
• Argentina — 2,189 (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 1,075 (2023)
• Barbados — 1,993 (2023)
• Belize — 733 (2023)
• Bolivia — 271 (2023)
• Brazil — 1,037 (2023)
• Colombia — 1,085 (2023)
• Costa Rica — 3,404 (2023)

More health data for Chile

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 4.45% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 4.69% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 1.61 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 16.14% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 1.67 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 16.96% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 3.29 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 16.55% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.59% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Chile's lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country)?

9,268 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is up 1,750% from 501 in 1985 (7.98% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 9,268 in 2023 and the lowest 501 in 1985.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.MMR.RISK, 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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