Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000-2020

The report is a joint publication of the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) – comprising WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division. The report presents internationally comparable global, regional and country-level estimates and trends for maternal mortality between 2000 and 2020. The estimates represent the most up to date, internationally-comparable MMEIG estimates of maternal mortality, using refined input data and methods from previous rounds, and the trends cover the first five years (2016 to 2020) of the 15 year SDG period.   

In 2020, an estimated 287,000 women globally died from a maternal cause, equivalent to approximately 800 women dying every day from maternal causes – meaning that a woman died approximately every two minutes. At the global level, previous successes in reducing maternal mortality that occurred during the MDG era have stagnated in the first five years of the SDG era (2016-2020). Notably, global trends obscure large inequalities in maternal survival between regions of the world and countries within the regions. The report highlights the continued urgent need for maternal and child health survival to remain high on the global development agenda.