Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya

Kenya: Number of maternal deaths by region was 7,716 deaths in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
7,716 deaths
Change on year
up 5.7%
World rank
9th
of 185 countries
All-time high
7,716 deaths
in 2020
All-time low
5,296 deaths
in 1985
Years of data
36
1985–2020

Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya, 1985–2020

02.0k4.0k6.0k8.0k1985200220201985: 5.3k deaths1986: 5.8k deaths1987: 5.9k deaths1988: 5.9k deaths1989: 6.1k deaths1990: 5.9k deaths1991: 5.8k deaths1992: 5.9k deaths1993: 5.9k deaths1994: 5.9k deaths1995: 6.1k deaths1996: 6.2k deaths1997: 6.1k deaths1998: 6.4k deaths1999: 6.6k deaths2000: 6.9k deaths2001: 7.2k deaths2002: 7.0k deaths2003: 6.9k deaths2004: 6.8k deaths2005: 6.9k deaths2006: 7.0k deaths2007: 7.2k deaths2008: 7.1k deaths2009: 6.9k deaths2010: 7.0k deaths2011: 6.9k deaths2012: 6.9k deaths2013: 7.4k deaths2014: 7.3k deaths2015: 7.0k deaths2016: 7.4k deaths2017: 7.1k deaths2018: 7.5k deaths2019: 7.3k deaths2020: 7.7k deaths

Source: UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya is 7,716 deaths, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.

That represents a change of up 5.7% on the previous year and up 10.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya peaked at 7,716 deaths in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5,296 deaths, in 1985.

That places Kenya 9th out of 185 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya, year by year

Annual values for Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya, 1985 to 2020.
Year deaths Change
1985 5,296 deaths
1986 5,785 deaths +9.2%
1987 5,917 deaths +2.3%
1988 5,853 deaths -1.1%
1989 6,122 deaths +4.6%
1990 5,876 deaths -4.0%
1991 5,763 deaths -1.9%
1992 5,907 deaths +2.5%
1993 5,876 deaths -0.5%
1994 5,875 deaths -0.0%
1995 6,131 deaths +4.4%
1996 6,236 deaths +1.7%
1997 6,103 deaths -2.1%
1998 6,374 deaths +4.5%
1999 6,564 deaths +3.0%
2000 6,946 deaths +5.8%
2001 7,208 deaths +3.8%
2002 6,962 deaths -3.4%
2003 6,926 deaths -0.5%
2004 6,790 deaths -2.0%
2005 6,947 deaths +2.3%
2006 6,976 deaths +0.4%
2007 7,164 deaths +2.7%
2008 7,112 deaths -0.7%
2009 6,851 deaths -3.7%
2010 6,995 deaths +2.1%
2011 6,908 deaths -1.2%
2012 6,921 deaths +0.2%
2013 7,433 deaths +7.4%
2014 7,278 deaths -2.1%
2015 7,013 deaths -3.6%
2016 7,353 deaths +4.9%
2017 7,143 deaths -2.9%
2018 7,468 deaths +4.5%
2019 7,297 deaths -2.3%
2020 7,716 deaths +5.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 5,795 deaths 5,296 deaths 6,122 deaths 5
1990s 6,071 deaths 5,763 deaths 6,564 deaths 10
2000s 6,988 deaths 6,790 deaths 7,208 deaths 10
2010s 7,181 deaths 6,908 deaths 7,468 deaths 10
2020s 7,716 deaths 7,716 deaths 7,716 deaths 1

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 6 Afghanistan 8,698 deaths compare
  2. 7 Indonesia 7,826 deaths compare
  3. 8 Chad 7,764 deaths compare
  4. 10 Tanzania 5,390 deaths compare
  5. 11 Niger 4,896 deaths compare
  6. 12 Uganda 4,700 deaths compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya?
Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya was 7,716 deaths in 2020, according to UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of maternal deaths by region recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 7,716 deaths in 2020.
What is the lowest number of maternal deaths by region recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 5,296 deaths in 1985.
How does Kenya rank for number of maternal deaths by region?
Kenya ranks 9th out of 185 countries with data for 2020.
Is number of maternal deaths by region rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kenya data come from?
The figures come from UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of maternal deaths by region. 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

Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya. Statizoid, drawing on UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-maternal-deaths-by-region/kenya/

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/number-of-maternal-deaths-by-region/kenya/">Number of maternal deaths by region in Kenya</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Number of maternal deaths by region
Unit
deaths
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

Estimated number of maternal deaths in a given year.