France: Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, France's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) rose 0.6 percentage points on 2019 (from 97.6% to 98.2%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2019), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.62 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.2 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.3 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 29% 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 2020, France had the 18th highest value of the 29 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 France in the 2020 ranking

• Portugal — 15th of 29: 98.6%
• Barbados — 16th of 29: 98.4%
• Brazil — 17th of 29: 98.4%
• Austria — 19th of 29: 98.1%
• Canada — 20th of 29: 98%
• Guyana — 21st of 29: 97.6%

What this measures

Births attended by skilled health staff are the percentage of deliveries attended by personnel trained to give the necessary supervision, care, and advice to women during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period; to conduct deliveries on their own; and to care for newborns.

Limitations: For the indicators that are from household surveys, the year refers to the survey year. For more information, consult the original sources.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 19 values

Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) in nearby economies

• Albania — 99.8% (2018)
• Armenia — 99.8% (2016)
• Austria — 98.1% (2020)
• Azerbaijan — 99.9% (2021)
• Belarus — 99.9% (2020)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 99.9% (2019)
• Bulgaria — 94.5% (2021)
• Croatia — 99.9% (2019)
• Cyprus — 99.3% (2019)
• Czechia

More health data for France

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 4.73% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.26% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 5.45 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 15.38% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 5.7 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 17.12% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 11.15 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 16.22% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.07% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is France's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total)?

98.2% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1993?

It is down 0.8 percentage points from 99% in 1993. The highest value was 99.6% in 2001 and the lowest 96.2% in 2011.

How does France rank?

18th highest of 29 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) unusual for France?

In 2020, France's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) rose 0.6 percentage points on 2019 (from 97.6% to 98.2%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2019), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.62 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.BRTC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: State of the World's Children, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF); Childinfo, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF); Demographic and Health Surveys, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program 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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