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Maternal mortality ratio in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Maternal mortality ratio was 191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
47th
of 185 countries
All-time high
354.25 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 1985
All-time low
189.82 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 2019
Years of data
36
1985–2020

Maternal mortality ratio in Papua New Guinea, 1985–2020

01002003004001985200220201985: 354.3 deaths per 100,000 live births1986: 350.3 deaths per 100,000 live births1987: 344.8 deaths per 100,000 live births1988: 344.5 deaths per 100,000 live births1989: 341.6 deaths per 100,000 live births1990: 334.9 deaths per 100,000 live births1991: 333.3 deaths per 100,000 live births1992: 322.6 deaths per 100,000 live births1993: 298.1 deaths per 100,000 live births1994: 291.9 deaths per 100,000 live births1995: 290.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1996: 298.9 deaths per 100,000 live births1997: 298.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1998: 291.4 deaths per 100,000 live births1999: 295.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2000: 311.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2001: 315.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2002: 325.4 deaths per 100,000 live births2003: 329 deaths per 100,000 live births2004: 309.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2005: 313.8 deaths per 100,000 live births2006: 322.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2007: 335.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2008: 291.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2009: 289.2 deaths per 100,000 live births2010: 288.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2011: 262.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2012: 255.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2013: 232.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2014: 229.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2015: 207.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2016: 208.9 deaths per 100,000 live births2017: 209.8 deaths per 100,000 live births2018: 199.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2019: 189.8 deaths per 100,000 live births2020: 191.8 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

Papua New Guinea recorded 191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births for maternal mortality ratio in 2020.

That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and down 33.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, maternal mortality ratio in Papua New Guinea peaked at 354.25 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1985 and was at its lowest, 189.82 deaths per 100,000 live births, in 2019.

That places Papua New Guinea 47th out of 185 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Maternal mortality ratio in Papua New Guinea, year by year

Year deaths per 100,000 live births Change
1985 354.25 deaths per 100,000 live births —
1986 350.26 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.1%
1987 344.78 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.6%
1988 344.48 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.1%
1989 341.64 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.8%
1990 334.87 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.0%
1991 333.29 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.5%
1992 322.57 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.2%
1993 298.13 deaths per 100,000 live births -7.6%
1994 291.93 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.1%
1995 290.72 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.4%
1996 298.91 deaths per 100,000 live births +2.8%
1997 298.72 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.1%
1998 291.41 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.4%
1999 295.48 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.4%
2000 311.86 deaths per 100,000 live births +5.5%
2001 315.86 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.3%
2002 325.43 deaths per 100,000 live births +3.0%
2003 329.03 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.1%
2004 309.74 deaths per 100,000 live births -5.9%
2005 313.77 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.3%
2006 322.95 deaths per 100,000 live births +2.9%
2007 335.64 deaths per 100,000 live births +3.9%
2008 291.57 deaths per 100,000 live births -13.1%
2009 289.23 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.8%
2010 288.9 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.1%
2011 262.31 deaths per 100,000 live births -9.2%
2012 255.29 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.7%
2013 232.91 deaths per 100,000 live births -8.8%
2014 229.29 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.6%
2015 207.55 deaths per 100,000 live births -9.5%
2016 208.9 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.7%
2017 209.79 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.4%
2018 199.06 deaths per 100,000 live births -5.1%
2019 189.82 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.6%
2020 191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 347.08 deaths per 100,000 live births 341.64 deaths per 100,000 live births 354.25 deaths per 100,000 live births 5
1990s 305.6 deaths per 100,000 live births 290.72 deaths per 100,000 live births 334.87 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2000s 314.51 deaths per 100,000 live births 289.23 deaths per 100,000 live births 335.64 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2010s 228.38 deaths per 100,000 live births 189.82 deaths per 100,000 live births 288.9 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2020s 191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births 191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births 191.84 deaths per 100,000 live births 1

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 44 Namibia 214.63 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  2. 45 Equatorial Guinea 212.33 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  3. 46 Timor-Leste 203.92 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  4. 48 Botswana 185.9 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  5. 49 Yemen 183.4 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  6. 50 Myanmar 178.67 deaths per 100,000 live births compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is maternal mortality ratio in Papua New Guinea?
Maternal mortality ratio in Papua New Guinea was 191.84 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 Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 354.25 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1985.
What is the lowest maternal mortality ratio recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 189.82 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for maternal mortality ratio?
Papua New Guinea ranks 47th out of 185 countries with data for 2020.
Is maternal mortality ratio rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 Papua New Guinea. Statizoid, drawing on UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/maternal-mortality-ratio-vs-gdp-per-capita/papua-new-guinea/

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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.