Lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia
Australia: Lifetime risk of maternal death was 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country in 2023. ▲ Rising
Lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia, 1985–2023
Source: Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in 1 in: rate varies by country.
Analysis
Australia recorded 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country for lifetime risk of maternal death in 2023. That is the highest value across all 39 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 55.1% on the previous year and up 177.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia peaked at 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country in 2023 and was at its lowest, 5,969 1 in: rate varies by country, in 1985.
That places Australia 10th out of 194 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 39 years of available data.
Lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia, year by year
| Year | 1 in: rate varies by country | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 5,969 1 in: rate varies by country | — |
| 1986 | 6,310 1 in: rate varies by country | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 6,286 1 in: rate varies by country | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 6,321 1 in: rate varies by country | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 6,185 1 in: rate varies by country | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 6,168 1 in: rate varies by country | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 6,232 1 in: rate varies by country | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 6,212 1 in: rate varies by country | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 6,478 1 in: rate varies by country | +4.3% |
| 1994 | 6,521 1 in: rate varies by country | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 6,904 1 in: rate varies by country | +5.9% |
| 1996 | 7,463 1 in: rate varies by country | +8.1% |
| 1997 | 7,702 1 in: rate varies by country | +3.2% |
| 1998 | 8,406 1 in: rate varies by country | +9.1% |
| 1999 | 8,900 1 in: rate varies by country | +5.9% |
| 2000 | 9,627 1 in: rate varies by country | +8.2% |
| 2001 | 11,212 1 in: rate varies by country | +16.5% |
| 2002 | 11,692 1 in: rate varies by country | +4.3% |
| 2003 | 11,920 1 in: rate varies by country | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 12,537 1 in: rate varies by country | +5.2% |
| 2005 | 12,915 1 in: rate varies by country | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 12,528 1 in: rate varies by country | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 11,553 1 in: rate varies by country | -7.8% |
| 2008 | 11,597 1 in: rate varies by country | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 10,960 1 in: rate varies by country | -5.5% |
| 2010 | 10,917 1 in: rate varies by country | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 10,229 1 in: rate varies by country | -6.3% |
| 2012 | 10,154 1 in: rate varies by country | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 10,174 1 in: rate varies by country | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 10,377 1 in: rate varies by country | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 10,447 1 in: rate varies by country | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 10,378 1 in: rate varies by country | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 11,119 1 in: rate varies by country | +7.1% |
| 2018 | 11,597 1 in: rate varies by country | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 12,172 1 in: rate varies by country | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 13,011 1 in: rate varies by country | +6.9% |
| 2021 | 15,036 1 in: rate varies by country | +15.6% |
| 2022 | 18,170 1 in: rate varies by country | +20.8% |
| 2023 | 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country | +55.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country is above the median for high income countries, which is 10,964 1 in: rate varies by country, 2.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Australia's 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 581.5 1 in: rate varies by country, 48.5× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | +55.1% | 18,170 1 in: rate varies by country | 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6,214 1 in: rate varies by country | 5,969 1 in: rate varies by country | 6,321 1 in: rate varies by country | 5 |
| 1990s | 7,099 1 in: rate varies by country | 6,168 1 in: rate varies by country | 8,900 1 in: rate varies by country | 10 |
| 2000s | 11,654 1 in: rate varies by country | 9,627 1 in: rate varies by country | 12,915 1 in: rate varies by country | 10 |
| 2010s | 10,756 1 in: rate varies by country | 10,154 1 in: rate varies by country | 12,172 1 in: rate varies by country | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,600 1 in: rate varies by country | 13,011 1 in: rate varies by country | 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 7 Czechia 31,604 1 in: rate varies by country compare
- 8 North Macedonia 29,386 1 in: rate varies by country compare
- 9 United Arab Emirates 29,127 1 in: rate varies by country compare
- 11 Croatia 27,841 1 in: rate varies by country compare
- 12 Slovenia 23,989 1 in: rate varies by country compare
- 13 Iceland 22,431 1 in: rate varies by country compare
More health data for Australia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.83 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.9072 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 906.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 215 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2021)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.45 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0279 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.35 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia?
- Lifetime risk of maternal death in Australia was 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country in 2023, according to Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest lifetime risk of maternal death recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 28,182 1 in: rate varies by country in 2023.
- What is the lowest lifetime risk of maternal death recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5,969 1 in: rate varies by country in 1985.
- How does Australia rank for lifetime risk of maternal death?
- Australia ranks 10th out of 194 countries with data for 2023.
- Is lifetime risk of maternal death rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 177.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 39 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Life time risk of maternal death is the probability that a 15-year-old female will die eventually from a maternal cause assuming that current levels of fertility and mortality (including maternal mortality) do not change in the future, taking into account competing causes of death.