South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Number of maternal deaths

South Africa
1,516 deaths
in 2020
Zimbabwe
1,734 deaths
in 2020
South Africa rank
35th
Zimbabwe rank
33rd

Number of maternal deaths over time

  • South Africa
  • Zimbabwe
01.0k2.0k3.0k198520022020

How they compare

Zimbabwe currently reports 1,734 deaths against 1,516 deaths in South Africa, a difference of 218 deaths.

That makes Zimbabwe's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 36 shared years of data; in 1985 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 35th and Zimbabwe ranks 33rd of 185 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 2 and Zimbabwe in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Zimbabwe Difference Ahead
1980s 2,047 deaths 1,381 deaths 665.8 deaths South Africa
1990s 1,686 deaths 1,299 deaths 387.21 deaths South Africa
2000s 2,194 deaths 2,430 deaths 235.21 deaths Zimbabwe
2010s 1,792 deaths 2,216 deaths 424.03 deaths Zimbabwe
2020s 1,516 deaths 1,734 deaths 218.2 deaths Zimbabwe

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of maternal deaths, South Africa or Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe, at 1,734 deaths against 1,516 deaths in South Africa as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of maternal deaths between South Africa and Zimbabwe?
218 deaths, with Zimbabwe ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Zimbabwe?
36 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2020.
How do South Africa and Zimbabwe rank globally for number of maternal deaths?
South Africa ranks 35th and Zimbabwe ranks 33rd of 185 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of maternal deaths. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Number of maternal deaths. Statizoid, drawing on UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/maternal-deaths-ihme/south-africa/zimbabwe/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of maternal deaths
Unit
deaths
Source
UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
185 places, 6,660 data points, 1985–2020
Last refreshed

Estimated number of maternal deaths in a given year.