Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia
Australia: Share of births attended by skilled health staff was 96.0% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia, 1991–2020
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total.
Analysis
In 2020, share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia stood at 96.0%. That is the lowest value across all 30 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.8% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia peaked at 99.8% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 96.0%, in 2020.
Australia ranks 104th of 169 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 99.6% | — |
| 1992 | 99.3% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 99.2% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 99.1% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 99.0% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 99.8% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 98.8% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 98.8% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 99.4% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 98.7% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 96.0% | -2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 99.3% | 99.1% | 99.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 99.1% | 98.7% | 99.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.0% | 96.0% | 96.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
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Frequently asked questions
- What is share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia?
- Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Australia was 96.0% in 2020, according to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of births attended by skilled health staff recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.8% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of births attended by skilled health staff recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 96.0% in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for share of births attended by skilled health staff?
- Australia ranks 104th out of 169 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of births attended by skilled health staff rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births attended by skilled health staff. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Skilled health staff refers to professionals 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.