Philippines's number of maternal deaths was 1,500 in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 46.43% from 2,800 in 2013 (6.05% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 1,500 | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 2,000 | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 2,800 | 2013 |
| Highest | 4,100 | 1985 |
| Lowest | 1,500 | 2023 |
| Average since 2014 | 2,080 | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 4,100 | 1985 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Philippines' number of maternal deaths fell 11.8% on 2022 (from 1,700 to 1,500).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −1.4% and a typical year strayed about 15.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 64.7% in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 39.3% 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 83.64 a year. A straight line explains 33% 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, Philippines had the 32nd 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 1,500 | 2023 |
| World | 260,000 | 2023 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 14,000 | 2023 |
| Upper middle income | 17,000 | 2023 |
Closest to Philippines in the 2023 ranking
- Myanmar — 30th of 194: 1,700
- Yemen, Rep. — 31st of 194: 1,600
- Malawi — 32nd of 194: 1,500
- China — 34th of 194: 1,400
- South Africa — 35th of 194: 1,400
- Mozambique — 36th of 194: 1,300
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 | 1,500 |
| 2022 | 1,700 |
| 2021 | 2,800 |
| 2020 | 1,700 |
| 2019 | 1,800 |
| 2018 | 2,000 |
| 2017 | 1,900 |
| 2016 | 2,300 |
| 2015 | 2,500 |
| 2014 | 2,600 |
| 2013 |
Number of maternal deaths in nearby economies
- Australia — 7 (2023)
- Brunei Darussalam — 2 (2023)
- Cambodia — 500 (2023)
- China — 1,400 (2023)
- Fiji — 5 (2023)
- Indonesia — 6,300 (2023)
- Japan — 23 (2023)
- Kiribati — 3 (2023)
- Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 230 (2023)
- Korea, Rep. — 9 (2023)
- Lao PDR — 180 (2023)
- Malaysia
More health data for Philippines
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 7.37% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.96% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 15.5 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 26.48% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 16.19 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 27.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 31.69 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 27.14% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 9.28% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Philippines's number of maternal deaths?
- 1,500 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1985?
- It is down 63.41% from 4,100 in 1985 (2.61% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 4,100 in 1985 and the lowest 1,500 in 2023.
- How does Philippines rank?
- 32nd highest of 194 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in number of maternal deaths unusual for Philippines?
- In 2023, Philippines' number of maternal deaths fell 11.8% on 2022 (from 1,700 to 1,500). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −1.4% and a typical year strayed about 15.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below 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.
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.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in