Number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria

Nigeria: Number of maternal deaths by region was 81,747 in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
81,747
Change on year
down 5.4%
World rank
1st
of 185 countries
All-time high
86,380
in 2019
All-time low
48,460
in 1985
Years of data
36
1985–2020

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

020.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k1985200220201985: 48.5k1986: 50.3k1987: 50.0k1988: 50.0k1989: 49.5k1990: 50.4k1991: 51.9k1992: 52.9k1993: 53.5k1994: 56.5k1995: 55.4k1996: 56.7k1997: 58.2k1998: 61.0k1999: 61.0k2000: 61.3k2001: 61.9k2002: 62.8k2003: 62.6k2004: 64.2k2005: 65.0k2006: 66.3k2007: 68.5k2008: 71.5k2009: 73.2k2010: 76.1k2011: 74.0k2012: 76.3k2013: 78.7k2014: 81.6k2015: 81.0k2016: 83.4k2017: 84.4k2018: 86.2k2019: 86.4k2020: 81.7k

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria is 81,747, measured in 2020.

That represents a change of down 5.4% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria peaked at 86,380 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 48,460, in 1985.

Nigeria ranks 1st of 185 countries on this measure, 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 Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for Number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria, 1985 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1985 48,460 —
1986 50,323 +3.8%
1987 49,986 -0.7%
1988 49,981 -0.0%
1989 49,457 -1.0%
1990 50,386 +1.9%
1991 51,938 +3.1%
1992 52,879 +1.8%
1993 53,484 +1.1%
1994 56,508 +5.7%
1995 55,410 -1.9%
1996 56,688 +2.3%
1997 58,249 +2.8%
1998 61,001 +4.7%
1999 60,957 -0.1%
2000 61,336 +0.6%
2001 61,937 +1.0%
2002 62,773 +1.3%
2003 62,635 -0.2%
2004 64,222 +2.5%
2005 64,968 +1.2%
2006 66,297 +2.0%
2007 68,472 +3.3%
2008 71,529 +4.5%
2009 73,154 +2.3%
2010 76,072 +4.0%
2011 73,984 -2.7%
2012 76,272 +3.1%
2013 78,682 +3.2%
2014 81,615 +3.7%
2015 80,978 -0.8%
2016 83,379 +3.0%
2017 84,372 +1.2%
2018 86,178 +2.1%
2019 86,380 +0.2%
2020 81,747 -5.4%

Nigeria compared with similar countries

  • Nigeria's 81,747 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 485.35, 168.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Nigeria's 81,747 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1,625, 50.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 49,641 48,460 50,323 5
1990s 55,750 50,386 61,001 10
2000s 65,732 61,336 73,154 10
2010s 80,791 73,984 86,380 10
2020s 81,747 81,747 81,747 1

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 2 India 23,753 compare
  2. 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 21,511 compare
  3. 4 Ethiopia 10,246 compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria?
Number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria was 81,747 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of maternal deaths by region recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 86,380 in 2019.
What is the lowest number of maternal deaths by region recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 48,460 in 1985.
How does Nigeria rank for number of maternal deaths by region?
Nigeria ranks 1st out of 185 countries with data for 2020.
Is number of maternal deaths by region rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from 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 Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 11 November 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-maternal-deaths-by-region/nigeria/

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/nigeria/">Number of maternal deaths by region in Nigeria</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Number of maternal deaths by region
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
185 places, 6,660 data points, 1985–2020
Last refreshed