World: Number of maternal deaths

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, World's number of maternal deaths fell 3% on 2022 (from 268,000 to 260,000).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −2.2% and a typical year strayed about 4.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 13.8% in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.8% 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 6,970 a year. A straight line explains 67% 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.

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

Number of maternal deaths in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 7,600 (2023)
• Algeria — 570 (2023)
• Bahrain — 3 (2023)
• Djibouti — 39 (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 410 (2023)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 190 (2023)
• Iraq — 770 (2023)
• Israel — 4 (2023)
• Jordan — 73 (2023)
• Kuwait — 4 (2023)
• Lebanon — 14 (2023)
• Libya

More health data for World

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 7.67% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.97% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 974.32 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 23.85% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 1.03 billion (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 24.97% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 2.01 billion (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 24.41% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 8.04% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

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Questions people ask

What is World's number of maternal deaths?

260,000 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is down 58.4% from 625,000 in 1985 (2.28% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 625,000 in 1985 and the lowest 260,000 in 2023.

Is the latest change in number of maternal deaths unusual for World?

In 2023, World's number of maternal deaths fell 3% on 2022 (from 268,000 to 260,000). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −2.2% and a typical year strayed about 4.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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.

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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