Maternal Disorders
Global mortality data, country rankings, and trends for Maternal Disorders from 1990 to 2021.
| # | Country | Share (%) | Region |
|---|
Maternal Disorders is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. This page presents data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Global Burden of Disease Study, showing mortality trends, country rankings, and regional patterns. Understanding the epidemiology of maternal disorders helps inform public health interventions and resource allocation.
This data is sourced from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, processed via Our World in Data. Values represent each cause's share of total deaths (%) unless otherwise noted. Explore related mortality data using the links below.
Maternal disorders — complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period — kill approximately 290,000 women each year. The leading direct causes are obstetric haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders (pre-eclampsia/eclampsia), sepsis, obstructed labour, and unsafe abortion. Indirect causes including anaemia, malaria, and HIV contribute substantially. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for roughly two-thirds of maternal deaths, followed by South Asia. The lifetime risk of maternal death in sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 1 in 40, compared to 1 in 5,400 in high-income countries — one of the starkest health inequities globally. Maternal mortality has declined by approximately 34% since 2000 but remains far from the Sustainable Development Goal target of fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. Adolescent pregnancy, lack of access to skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, and socioeconomic deprivation are the primary drivers of excess mortality.
Across 210 countries, maternal disorders accounts for an average of 0.5% of total deaths. Regional disparities are substantial: Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest regional average at 1.6%, while Europe & Central Asia records the lowest at 0.0% — a 87.0-fold difference that underscores the geographic inequality in maternal disorders mortality burden.
Skilled birth attendance and access to emergency obstetric care (EmOC) — including caesarean section, blood transfusion, and treatment of pre-eclampsia with magnesium sulfate — are the most critical interventions. Antenatal care enables early detection and management of risk factors. Misoprostol for postpartum haemorrhage prevention can be administered by community health workers. Access to safe abortion services and contraception prevents deaths from unsafe abortion and unintended pregnancies. Iron and folic acid supplementation addresses anaemia. The WHO Quality of Care framework provides standards for maternal and newborn services.