Statizoid

Maternal mortality ratio (UN MMEIG) in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Maternal mortality ratio (UN MMEIG) was 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births
Change on year
down 3.3%
World rank
112th
of 185 countries
All-time high
69.81 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 1985
All-time low
28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births
in 2020
Years of data
36
1985–2020

Maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka, 1985–2020

02040601985200220201985: 69.8 deaths per 100,000 live births1986: 69.4 deaths per 100,000 live births1987: 62.5 deaths per 100,000 live births1988: 62.3 deaths per 100,000 live births1989: 61 deaths per 100,000 live births1990: 59.3 deaths per 100,000 live births1991: 59 deaths per 100,000 live births1992: 56.5 deaths per 100,000 live births1993: 55.8 deaths per 100,000 live births1994: 50.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1995: 52 deaths per 100,000 live births1996: 52.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1997: 52.7 deaths per 100,000 live births1998: 47 deaths per 100,000 live births1999: 50.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2000: 61.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2001: 54.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2002: 52 deaths per 100,000 live births2003: 49.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2004: 48.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2005: 44 deaths per 100,000 live births2006: 40.7 deaths per 100,000 live births2007: 39.5 deaths per 100,000 live births2008: 39.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2009: 39.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2010: 37.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2011: 36.1 deaths per 100,000 live births2012: 34.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2013: 33.4 deaths per 100,000 live births2014: 30.2 deaths per 100,000 live births2015: 30.4 deaths per 100,000 live births2016: 29.8 deaths per 100,000 live births2017: 30.6 deaths per 100,000 live births2018: 30.3 deaths per 100,000 live births2019: 29.8 deaths per 100,000 live births2020: 28.8 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

The most recent figure for maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka is 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

That represents a change of down 3.3% on the previous year and down 22.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka peaked at 69.81 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1985 and was at its lowest, 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births, in 2020.

That places Sri Lanka 112th 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 Sri Lanka, year by year

Year deaths per 100,000 live births Change
1985 69.81 deaths per 100,000 live births —
1986 69.45 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.5%
1987 62.53 deaths per 100,000 live births -10.0%
1988 62.35 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.3%
1989 61.04 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.1%
1990 59.34 deaths per 100,000 live births -2.8%
1991 59.02 deaths per 100,000 live births -0.5%
1992 56.47 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.3%
1993 55.8 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.2%
1994 50.69 deaths per 100,000 live births -9.2%
1995 51.98 deaths per 100,000 live births +2.5%
1996 52.69 deaths per 100,000 live births +1.4%
1997 52.71 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.0%
1998 47 deaths per 100,000 live births -10.8%
1999 50.5 deaths per 100,000 live births +7.5%
2000 61.08 deaths per 100,000 live births +20.9%
2001 54.7 deaths per 100,000 live births -10.4%
2002 51.99 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.9%
2003 49.74 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.3%
2004 48.1 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.3%
2005 44.01 deaths per 100,000 live births -8.5%
2006 40.75 deaths per 100,000 live births -7.4%
2007 39.46 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.2%
2008 39.63 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.4%
2009 39.13 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.3%
2010 37.26 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.8%
2011 36.13 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.0%
2012 34.63 deaths per 100,000 live births -4.2%
2013 33.44 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.4%
2014 30.16 deaths per 100,000 live births -9.8%
2015 30.37 deaths per 100,000 live births +0.7%
2016 29.81 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.9%
2017 30.62 deaths per 100,000 live births +2.7%
2018 30.29 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.1%
2019 29.82 deaths per 100,000 live births -1.6%
2020 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births -3.3%

Sri Lanka compared with similar countries

  • Sri Lanka's 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 45.53 deaths per 100,000 live births, 63% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Sri Lanka's 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births is below the median for South Asia, which is 81.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 35% of the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 65.03 deaths per 100,000 live births 61.04 deaths per 100,000 live births 69.81 deaths per 100,000 live births 5
1990s 53.62 deaths per 100,000 live births 47 deaths per 100,000 live births 59.34 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2000s 46.86 deaths per 100,000 live births 39.13 deaths per 100,000 live births 61.08 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2010s 32.25 deaths per 100,000 live births 29.81 deaths per 100,000 live births 37.26 deaths per 100,000 live births 10
2020s 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births 1

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 109 Puerto Rico 34.34 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  2. 110 Uzbekistan 30.18 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  3. 111 Syria 29.92 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  4. 113 Thailand 28.6 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  5. 114 Georgia 27.61 deaths per 100,000 live births compare
  6. 115 Armenia 27.19 deaths per 100,000 live births compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka?
Maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka was 28.84 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 Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 69.81 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1985.
What is the lowest maternal mortality ratio recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 28.84 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020.
How does Sri Lanka rank for maternal mortality ratio?
Sri Lanka ranks 112th out of 185 countries with data for 2020.
Is maternal mortality ratio rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka. 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/sri-lanka/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/maternal-mortality-ratio-vs-gdp-per-capita/sri-lanka/">Maternal mortality ratio in Sri Lanka</a> — Statizoid

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.