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Maternal mortality ratio (UN MMEIG) in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Maternal mortality ratio (UN MMEIG) was 22 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
22 deaths per 100,000 live births
Change on year
up 17.7%
World rank
119th
of 185 countries
All-time high
49.59 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 1985
All-time low
17.99 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 2018
Years of data
36
1985–2020

Maternal mortality ratio in Costa Rica, 1985–2020

010203040501985200220201985: 49.6 deaths per 100,000 live births1986: 49.1 deaths per 100,000 live births1987: 45.3 deaths per 100,000 live births1988: 44.5 deaths per 100,000 live births1989: 44.1 deaths per 100,000 live births1990: 44.1 deaths per 100,000 live births1991: 43.4 deaths per 100,000 live births1992: 43.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1993: 44 deaths per 100,000 live births1994: 41.6 deaths per 100,000 live births1995: 42.8 deaths per 100,000 live births1996: 44.2 deaths per 100,000 live births1997: 38 deaths per 100,000 live births1998: 40.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1999: 39.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2000: 38.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2001: 37.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2002: 36.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2003: 36.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2004: 31.8 deaths per 100,000 live births2005: 30.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2006: 29.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2007: 28.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2008: 27.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2009: 26.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2010: 26.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2011: 24.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2012: 24.2 deaths per 100,000 live births2013: 23.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2014: 24.2 deaths per 100,000 live births2015: 19.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2016: 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2017: 18.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2018: 18 deaths per 100,000 live births2019: 18.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2020: 22 deaths per 100,000 live births

Source: UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100,000 live births.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 22 deaths per 100,000 live births for maternal mortality ratio in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.7% on the previous year and down 17.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, maternal mortality ratio in Costa Rica peaked at 49.59 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1985 and was at its lowest, 17.99 deaths per 100,000 live births, in 2018.

That places Costa Rica 119th out of 185 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Maternal mortality ratio (UN MMEIG) in Costa Rica, year by year

Year deaths per 100,000 live births Change
1985 49.59 deaths per 100,000 live births —
1986 49.1 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.0%
1987 45.32 deaths per 100,000 live births -7.7%
1988 44.54 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.7%
1989 44.07 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.0%
1990 44.09 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.0%
1991 43.4 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.6%
1992 43.7 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.7%
1993 43.98 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.6%
1994 41.58 deaths per 100,000 live births -5.5%
1995 42.76 deaths per 100,000 live births +2.8%
1996 44.24 deaths per 100,000 live births +3.5%
1997 37.95 deaths per 100,000 live births -14.2%
1998 40.71 deaths per 100,000 live births +7.3%
1999 39.07 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.0%
2000 38.51 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.4%
2001 37.12 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.6%
2002 36.47 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.8%
2003 36.93 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.3%
2004 31.83 deaths per 100,000 live births -13.8%
2005 30.54 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.1%
2006 29.45 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.6%
2007 28.28 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.0%
2008 27.12 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.1%
2009 26.33 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.9%
2010 26.57 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.9%
2011 24.25 deaths per 100,000 live births -8.7%
2012 24.16 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.4%
2013 23.31 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.5%
2014 24.24 deaths per 100,000 live births +4.0%
2015 19.69 deaths per 100,000 live births -18.7%
2016 18.57 deaths per 100,000 live births -5.7%
2017 18.72 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.8%
2018 17.99 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.9%
2019 18.7 deaths per 100,000 live births +3.9%
2020 22 deaths per 100,000 live births +17.7%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 22 deaths per 100,000 live births is above the median for high income countries, which is 7.63 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 22 deaths per 100,000 live births is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 69.83 deaths per 100,000 live births, 32% of the median. (32 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 46.52 deaths per 100,000 live births 44.07 deaths per 100,000 live births 49.59 deaths per 100,000 live births 5
1990s 42.15 deaths per 100,000 live births 37.95 deaths per 100,000 live births 44.24 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2000s 32.26 deaths per 100,000 live births 26.33 deaths per 100,000 live births 38.51 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2010s 21.62 deaths per 100,000 live births 17.99 deaths per 100,000 live births 26.57 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2020s 22 deaths per 100,000 live births 22 deaths per 100,000 live births 22 deaths per 100,000 live births 1

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 116 Trinidad and Tobago 26.58 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  2. 117 China 23.05 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  3. 118 Iran 22.02 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  4. 120 Antigua and Barbuda 21.25 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  5. 121 Grenada 21.14 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  6. 122 Malaysia 21.13 deaths per 100,000 live births compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is maternal mortality ratio in Costa Rica?
Maternal mortality ratio in Costa Rica was 22 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, according to UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest maternal mortality ratio recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 49.59 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1985.
What is the lowest maternal mortality ratio recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 17.99 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018.
How does Costa Rica rank for maternal mortality ratio?
Costa Rica ranks 119th out of 185 countries with data for 2020.
Is maternal mortality ratio rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Maternal mortality ratio. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Maternal mortality ratio in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/maternal-mortality-ratio-vs-gdp-per-capita/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Maternal mortality ratio
Unit
deaths per 100,000 live births
Source
UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
185 places, 6,660 data points, 1985–2020
Last refreshed

The estimated maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.