Eswatini's number of maternal deaths was 35 in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 78.13% from 160 in 2013 (14.1% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 35 | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 41 | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 160 | 2013 |
| Highest | 300 | 2009 |
| Lowest | 29 | 2019 |
| Average since 2014 | 56.2 | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 190 | 1985 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Eswatini's number of maternal deaths rose 6.1% on 2022 (from 33 to 35).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −2.7% and a typical year strayed about 28.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 112.9% in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 50% 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 7.56 a year. A straight line explains 57% 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 2023, Eswatini had the 100th 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Eswatini | 35 | 2023 |
| World | 260,000 | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 187,000 | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 151,000 | 2023 |
Closest to Eswatini in the 2023 ranking
- El Salvador — 97th of 194: 39
- Kazakhstan — 98th of 194: 39
- Tajikistan — 99th of 194: 38
- Cuba — 101st of 194: 33
- Ukraine — 102nd of 194: 32
- Germany — 103rd of 194: 26
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 | 35 |
| 2022 | 33 |
| 2021 | 66 |
| 2020 | 31 |
| 2019 | 29 |
| 2018 | 41 |
| 2017 | 47 |
| 2016 | 68 |
| 2015 | 92 |
| 2014 | 120 |
| 2013 | 160 |
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)
- 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.
More health data for Eswatini
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 10.87% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 11.52% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 205,943 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 32.22% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 208,543 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 33.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 414,486 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 33% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 10.75% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Eswatini's number of maternal deaths?
- 35 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1985?
- It is down 81.58% from 190 in 1985 (4.35% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 300 in 2009 and the lowest 29 in 2019.
- How does Eswatini rank?
- 100th highest of 194 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in number of maternal deaths unusual for Eswatini?
- In 2023, Eswatini's number of maternal deaths rose 6.1% on 2022 (from 33 to 35). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −2.7% and a typical year strayed about 28.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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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