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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Mexico's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) fell 1.4 percentage points on 2016 (from 98% to 96.6%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2016), the average change was +0.59 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.72 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below 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 4.3 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.5 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.38 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 38% 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 2017, Mexico had the 9th highest value of the 12 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 Mexico in the 2017 ranking

• Hungary — 6th of 12: 99.7%
• Ireland — 7th of 12: 99.7%
• Maldives — 8th of 12: 99.5%
• Tajikistan — 10th of 12: 94.8%
• Nicaragua — 11th of 12: 94.1%
• Guatemala — 12th of 12: 69.6%

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 21 values

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

• Antigua and Barbuda — 99% (2020)
• Argentina — 98.8% (2020)
• Bahamas, The — 99% (2019)
• Barbados — 98.4% (2020)
• Belize — 94.6% (2020)
• Bolivia — 81.1% (2019)
• Brazil — 98.4% (2020)
• Chile — 99.8% (2019)
• Colombia — 98.8% (2019)
• Costa Rica

More health data for Mexico

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 7.31% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 8.05% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 15.61 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 22.97% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 16.17 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 25.28% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 31.79 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 24.09% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 7.57% (2025)

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 Mexico's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total)?

96.6% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1987?

It is up 27.2 percentage points from 69.4% in 1987. The highest value was 99.6% in 2012 and the lowest 69.4% in 1987.

How does Mexico rank?

9th highest of 12 economies with data for 2017.

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

In 2017, Mexico's births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) fell 1.4 percentage points on 2016 (from 98% to 96.6%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2016), the average change was +0.59 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.72 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below 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.

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.