Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Bhutan
Bhutan: Share of births attended by skilled health staff was 98.9% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Bhutan, 1994–2021
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total.
Analysis
Bhutan recorded 98.9% for share of births attended by skilled health staff in 2021.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 41.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of births attended by skilled health staff in Bhutan peaked at 99.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 12.0%, in 1994.
That places Bhutan 74th out of 169 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 12.0% | — |
| 2000 | 27.3% | +127.5% |
| 2003 | 56.1% | +105.5% |
| 2005 | 52.3% | -6.8% |
| 2006 | 57.1% | +9.2% |
| 2007 | 71.4% | +25.0% |
| 2008 | 66.3% | -7.1% |
| 2009 | 66.0% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 64.5% | -2.3% |
| 2011 | 70.0% | +8.5% |
| 2012 | 74.6% | +6.6% |
| 2013 | 89.0% | +19.3% |
| 2014 | 89.0% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 89.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 89.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 96.4% | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 96.2% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 96.3% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 99.3% | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 98.9% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.0% | 12.0% | 12.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 56.6% | 27.3% | 71.4% | 7 |
| 2010s | 85.4% | 64.5% | 96.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.1% | 98.9% | 99.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More health data for Bhutan
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -10 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.0915 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,531 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 9 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 75-79, female, annual growth rate 2.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, female, per capita 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, annual growth rate 2.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, per capita 0.0056 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of births attended by skilled health staff in Bhutan?
- Share of births attended by skilled health staff in Bhutan was 98.9% in 2021, 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 Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 99.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of births attended by skilled health staff recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.0% in 1994.
- How does Bhutan rank for share of births attended by skilled health staff?
- Bhutan ranks 74th out of 169 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of births attended by skilled health staff rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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 — 20 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.