Healthcare Access
Maternal Mortality Rate by Country 2026
Maternal Mortality Rate (per 100k births)
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993 per 100k births
748 per 100k births
692 per 100k births
692 per 100k births
628 per 100k births
- Values shown indicate the annual number of maternal deaths due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth per 100k live births.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a drop in the global mortality rate from 342 deaths to 233 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Maternal mortality rate varies significantly from country to country. The highest maternal mortality rate belongs to South Sudan at 1,223 per 100 thousand births. Mexico has a mid-range maternal mortality rate of 59. And the lowest rate occurs in Belarus at only one per 100K. Thus, the spectrum of maternal mortality is quite wide.
Top 10 Countries with the Highest Maternal Mortality Rates
The country with the highest maternal mortality rate is South Sudan where 1,223 out of 100 thousand women giving births die. In South Sudan, most women give birth at home without skilled help, and when complications strike, there’s often no hospital or transport available. Poverty and conflict make it even harder to reach care, turning many preventable problems into tragedies.
Chad is second with 1,063 maternal deaths per 100K. Nigeria is third with 1,047 per 100K. Fourth is the Central African Republic at 835 per 100K. The country with the fifth highest rate is Guinea-Bissau with 725 maternal deaths per 100K. These countries all face the same underlying challenges as South Sudan — fragile health systems, poverty, and in many cases conflict. And together they leave mothers without the skilled care and emergency services that could save their lives.
The next five countries with the highest maternal mortality rates (per 100K) are Liberia (652), Somalia (621), Afghanistan (620), Lesotho (566), and Guinea (553).
Top 10 Countries with the Lowest Maternal Mortality Rates
European countries dominate the other end of the spectrum. Belarus, Poland, and Norway all report fewer than two deaths per 100,000 live births.
The next eight countries, including Seychelles as country #11, have three maternal deaths per 100K births: Spain, Australia, Czechia, Israel, North Macedonia, Malta, Iceland, and Seychelles.
It is of note that in Ireland (5/100K), a doctor always treats the mother even if there is a chance of the unintentional death of the baby. The material mortality rate in Ireland is extremely low because physicians focus on saving the mother.
Also notably, in the United States, it’s estimated that the maternal mortality rate is 21 per 100K. The US is 62nd on the list mainly because of inequities in healthcare. A rise in chronic health conditions is also leading to a high maternal mortality rate in the United States.
