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Data

Number of maternal deaths by region

See all data and research on:
Maternal MortalityCauses of Death

What you should know about this indicator

Data on maternal mortality and other relevant variables are obtained through databases maintained by WHO, UNPD, UNICEF, and the World Bank Group. Data available from countries varies in terms of the source and methods.

Given the variability of the sources of data, different methods are used for each data source in order to arrive at country estimates that are comparable and permit regional and global aggregation.

The current methodology employed by the Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) in this round followed an improved approach that built directly upon methods used to produce the previous rounds of estimates published by the MMEIG since 2008.

Estimates for this round were generated using a Bayesian approach, referred to as the Bayesian maternal mortality estimation model, or BMat model. This enhanced methodology uses the same core estimation method as in those previous rounds, but adds refinements to optimize the use of country-specific data sources and excludes late maternal deaths. It therefore provides more accurate estimates, and a more realistic assessment of certainty about those estimates.

The new model still incorporates the same covariates which are;

  • the Gross Domestic Product per capita based on purchasing power parity conversion (GDP),
  • the general fertility rate (GFR)
  • proportion of births attended by a skilled health worker (SAB).

The MMEIG has developed a method to adjust existing data in order to take into account these data quality issues and ensure the comparability of different data sources. This method involves assessment of data for underreporting and, where necessary, adjustment for incompleteness and misclassification of deaths as well as development of estimates through statistical modelling for countries with no reliable national level data.

Number of maternal deaths by region
The estimated number of maternal deaths in a given year.
Source
UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
July 8, 2024
Next expected update
July 2025
Date range
1985–2020
Unit
deaths

Related research and writing

A dark blue background with a lighter blue world map superimposed over it. Yellow text that says Maternal Mortality by Our World in Data

Maternal Mortality

Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie

Explore charts that include this data

Maternal deaths by income group

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

The United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) – comprising WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank Group and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (UNDESA/Population Division) has collaborated with external technical experts on a new round of estimates covering 2000 to 2020, in addition to the previous data covering 1985 to 2000. The estimates represent the most up to date, internationally-comparable MMEIG estimates of maternal mortality, using refined input data and methods from previous rounds.

Retrieved on
July 8, 2024
Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240068759
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/ Population Division. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

How we process data at Our World in Data

All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.

Read about our data pipeline
Notes on our processing step for this indicator
  • The data shown is the UN MMEIG point estimate - this means there is a 50% chance that the true measure lies above this point, and a 50% chance that the true value lies below this point.

Reuse this work

  • All data produced by third-party providers and made available by Our World in Data are subject to the license terms from the original providers. Our work would not be possible without the data providers we rely on, so we ask you to always cite them appropriately (see below). This is crucial to allow data providers to continue doing their work, enhancing, maintaining and updating valuable data.
  • All data, visualizations, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Number of maternal deaths by region”, part of the following publication: Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie (2013) - “Maternal Mortality”. Data adapted from UN MMEIG (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/ Population Division). Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-maternal-deaths-by-region [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

UN MMEIG (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. “Number of maternal deaths by region” [dataset]. UN MMEIG (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/ Population Division), “Trends in maternal mortality 2020” [original data]. Retrieved December 13, 2024 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-maternal-deaths-by-region