Lifetime risk of maternal death in World
World: Lifetime risk of maternal death was 0.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Lifetime risk of maternal death in World, 1985–2023
Source: Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in %.
Analysis
World recorded 0.4% for lifetime risk of maternal death in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 39 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.9% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifetime risk of maternal death in World peaked at 1.4% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2023.
World ranks 20th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 39 years of available data.
Lifetime risk of maternal death in World, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 1.4% | — |
| 1986 | 1.3% | -4.3% |
| 1987 | 1.3% | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | -5.6% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | -3.2% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | -3.5% |
| 1991 | 1.1% | -5.3% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | -3.9% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -4.6% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | -4.0% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | -3.5% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -4.4% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | -4.5% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | -3.9% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | -3.7% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -3.2% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | +14.2% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -18.4% |
| 2023 | 0.4% | -2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 5 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near World
- 17 Côte d'Ivoire 1.5% compare
- 18 Gambia 1.4% compare
- 19 Togo 1.4% compare
- 20 Sierra Leone 1.4% compare
- 21 Zimbabwe 1.3% compare
- 22 Lesotho 1.3% compare
- 23 Tanzania, United Republic of 1.3% compare
More health data for World
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 27,200 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 30,206 (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 411,913 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate -0.3116 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1186 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifetime risk of maternal death in World?
- Lifetime risk of maternal death in World was 0.4% in 2023, according to Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest lifetime risk of maternal death recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 1985.
- What is the lowest lifetime risk of maternal death recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2023.
- How does World rank for lifetime risk of maternal death?
- World ranks 20th out of 45 groups with data for 2023.
- Is lifetime risk of maternal death rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this World data come from?
- The figures come from Trends in Maternal Mortality, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Lifetime risk of maternal death (%). 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.