Lifetime risk of maternal death in United States
United States: Lifetime risk of maternal death was 0.024 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Lifetime risk of maternal death in United States, 1985–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 0.024 for lifetime risk of maternal death in 2023.
The figure is down 19.3% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifetime risk of maternal death in United States peaked at 0.0455 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.0187, in 1997.
United States ranks 134th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 39 years of available data.
Lifetime risk of maternal death in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.0211 | — |
| 1986 | 0.0212 | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 0.0217 | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 0.0225 | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 0.0232 | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 0.0234 | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 0.0229 | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 0.0216 | -5.5% |
| 1993 | 0.0212 | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 0.0205 | -3.3% |
| 1995 | 0.0201 | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 0.0194 | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 0.0187 | -3.4% |
| 1998 | 0.0189 | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 0.0197 | +4.5% |
| 2000 | 0.0207 | +4.9% |
| 2001 | 0.0213 | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 0.0217 | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 0.0224 | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 0.0223 | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 0.0226 | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 0.0234 | +3.3% |
| 2007 | 0.0235 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 0.0238 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 0.0244 | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 0.0237 | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0246 | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 0.0251 | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 0.0256 | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0267 | +4.2% |
| 2015 | 0.0274 | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 0.0283 | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 0.0278 | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 0.0268 | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 0.0264 | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 0.0325 | +23.3% |
| 2021 | 0.0455 | +40.1% |
| 2022 | 0.0298 | -34.6% |
| 2023 | 0.024 | -19.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.024 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0091, 2.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Lifetime risk of maternal death in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +40.1% | 0.0325 | 0.0455 |
| 2022 | -34.6% | 0.0455 | 0.0298 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.0219 | 0.0211 | 0.0232 | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.0206 | 0.0187 | 0.0234 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0226 | 0.0207 | 0.0244 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0262 | 0.0237 | 0.0283 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.033 | 0.024 | 0.0455 | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More health data for United States
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1867 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 4,015 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.056 % 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 0.0261 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.1919 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0274 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifetime risk of maternal death in United States?
- Lifetime risk of maternal death in United States was 0.024 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest lifetime risk of maternal death recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0455 in 2021.
- What is the lowest lifetime risk of maternal death recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0187 in 1997.
- How does United States rank for lifetime risk of maternal death?
- United States ranks 134th out of 194 countries with data for 2023.
- Is lifetime risk of maternal death rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, 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 (Our World in Data).