Afghanistan vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Maternal mortality ratio

Afghanistan
521
in 2023
Sub-Saharan Africa
448
in 2023
Afghanistan rank
7th
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
4th

Maternal mortality ratio over time

  • Afghanistan
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
5001.0k1.5k2.0k198520042023

How they compare

Afghanistan currently reports 521 against 448 in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 73.

That makes Afghanistan's figure about 1.2 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.

Across all 39 years both countries report, Afghanistan has been ahead every year.

Afghanistan ranks 7th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 4th of 194 countries.

Afghanistan has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Afghanistan Sub-Saharan Africa Difference Ahead
1980s 1,800 1,076 724 Afghanistan
1990s 1,426 904.4 521.5 Afghanistan
2000s 1,140 680.6 459.6 Afghanistan
2010s 740.6 586.5 154.1 Afghanistan
2020s 591.5 472.5 119 Afghanistan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher maternal mortality ratio, Afghanistan or Sub-Saharan Africa?
Afghanistan, at 521 against 448 in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in maternal mortality ratio between Afghanistan and Sub-Saharan Africa?
73, with Afghanistan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Sub-Saharan Africa?
39 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2023.
How do Afghanistan and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for maternal mortality ratio?
Afghanistan ranks 7th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 4th of 194 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO), published as Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Afghanistan vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Maternal mortality ratio. Statizoid, drawing on Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/maternal-mortality-ratio-modeled-estimate-per-100-000-live-births/afghanistan/sub-saharan-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/maternal-mortality-ratio-modeled-estimate-per-100-000-live-births/afghanistan/sub-saharan-africa/">Afghanistan vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Maternal mortality ratio</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births)
Source
Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
241 places, 9,399 data points, 1985–2023
Last refreshed

Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births. The data are estimated with a regression model using information on the proportion of maternal deaths among non-AIDS deaths in women ages 15-49, fertility, birth attendants, and GDP measured using purchasing power parities (PPPs).