Maternal health statistics show a sharp contrast between global progress and continuing risks. The World Health Organization estimated about 260,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2023, while CDC data recorded 649 maternal deaths in the United States in 2024. Rates also varied substantially by geography, age, race, and ethnicity.
Table of contents
- Global maternal mortality
- Where maternal deaths occur
- Risk by country setting
- U.S. maternal deaths over time
- U.S. rates by age
- U.S. rates by race and ethnicity
Global maternal mortality
The World Health Organization’s Maternal mortality fact sheet reports that about 260,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2023. That estimate corresponds to more than 700 deaths every day. Put another way, a maternal death occurred almost every two minutes during that year.
These figures describe deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth, including deaths during pregnancy and after childbirth. They are global estimates for 2023, rather than a count for one country or health system. The WHO also reports that the global maternal mortality ratio dropped by about 40% between 2000 and 2023. The decline is important, but the remaining number of deaths indicates that progress has not eliminated preventable maternal risks.
The global burden is concentrated in countries with fewer resources. About 92% of maternal deaths occurred in low- and lower-middle-income countries in 2023, according to the WHO. This distribution means that a global total should not be read as an even average across countries. Geography and national income setting strongly shape the risk measured by the statistics.
Where maternal deaths occur
Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia together accounted for around 87% of estimated global maternal deaths in 2023. Sub-Saharan Africa alone represented around 70% of maternal deaths, or approximately 182,000 deaths. Southern Asia represented around 17%, or approximately 43,000 deaths.
The regional figures help put the global estimate in context. The two regions accounted for most estimated deaths, while the remainder was distributed across other parts of the world. Because the WHO labels these figures as estimates, they should be understood as modeled or estimated totals for 2023, not as a complete directly observed count from every country.
| Geographic measure | 2023 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global maternal deaths | About 260,000 | WHO Maternal mortality fact sheet |
| Low- and lower-middle-income countries’ share | About 92% | WHO Maternal mortality fact sheet |
| Sub-Saharan Africa’s share | Around 70%, or 182,000 deaths | WHO Maternal mortality fact sheet |
| Southern Asia’s share | Around 17%, or 43,000 deaths | WHO Maternal mortality fact sheet |
Risk by country setting
The WHO reported a maternal mortality ratio of 346 deaths per 100,000 live births in low-income countries in 2023. In high-income countries, the ratio was 10 deaths per 100,000 live births. These are not counts of all women; they are ratios standardized to the number of live births, which makes the figures useful for comparing settings with different population sizes.
Conflict and fragility were also associated with higher reported ratios. The maternal mortality ratio in conflict-affected areas was 504 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023. In fragile settings, it was 368 deaths per 100,000 live births. The ratio in non-conflict, non-fragile settings was 99 deaths per 100,000 live births.
For a longer-term view of risk, the WHO reported the lifetime risk of maternal death for a 15-year-old woman. In high-income countries, that risk was 1 in 7,933 in 2023. In low-income countries, it was 1 in 66. These lifetime-risk figures are different from the maternal mortality ratios above: they describe the risk over a lifetime beginning at age 15, while the ratios describe maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
The WHO’s 2023 measures therefore show several distinct comparisons: 346 versus 10 deaths per 100,000 live births by income setting; 504 versus 368 versus 99 by conflict and fragility setting; and 1 in 66 versus 1 in 7,933 for the stated lifetime-risk comparison. Each uses its own denominator and should be interpreted accordingly.
U.S. maternal deaths over time
CDC’s Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 reports 649 women who died of maternal causes in the United States in 2024. The same source recorded 669 deaths in 2023, 817 in 2022, 1,205 in 2021, 861 in 2020, 754 in 2019, and 658 in 2018.
The corresponding U.S. maternal mortality rates were 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, 18.6 in 2023, 22.3 in 2022, 32.9 in 2021, 23.8 in 2020, 20.1 in 2019, and 17.4 in 2018. The rate is a ratio, so it should be considered alongside the number of live births and the definition used by the CDC.
| U.S. year | Maternal deaths | Rate per 100,000 live births |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 658 | 17.4 |
| 2019 | 754 | 20.1 |
| 2020 | 861 | 23.8 |
| 2021 | 1,205 | 32.9 |
| 2022 | 817 | 22.3 |
| 2023 | 669 | 18.6 |
| 2024 | 649 | 17.9 |
The CDC also reported 3,628,934 live births in the United States in 2024. Births to women younger than 25 totaled 750,800; births to women ages 25–39 totaled 2,725,743; and births to women age 40 and older totaled 152,391. Those birth totals provide the population context for the age-specific rates below.
U.S. rates by age
Age was associated with different maternal mortality rates in the CDC’s 2024 U.S. figures. Women younger than 25 had a rate of 13.7 deaths per 100,000 live births. Women ages 25–39 had a rate of 16.5, while women age 40 and older had a rate of 62.3.
The CDC count of maternal deaths followed the same age-group ordering: 103 deaths among women younger than 25, 451 among women ages 25–39, and 95 among women age 40 and older. Counts and rates answer different questions. The count describes how many deaths were recorded in each group; the rate accounts for the number of live births in that group.
| U.S. age group, 2024 | Live births | Maternal deaths | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Younger than 25 | 750,800 | 103 | 13.7 |
| Ages 25–39 | 2,725,743 | 451 | 16.5 |
| Age 40 and older | 152,391 | 95 | 62.3 |
The oldest age category had the highest reported rate among the three CDC age groups, even though its recorded death count was lower than the count for women ages 25–39. This is why a comparison based only on total deaths can give a different impression from a comparison based on deaths per 100,000 live births.
U.S. rates by race and ethnicity
The CDC reported different 2024 maternal mortality rates among the race and ethnicity categories shown in its table. The rate was 18.1 deaths per 100,000 live births for Asian non-Hispanic women, 44.8 for Black non-Hispanic women, 14.2 for White non-Hispanic women, and 12.1 for Hispanic women.
The corresponding birth totals were 226,860 for Asian non-Hispanic women, 473,377 for Black non-Hispanic women, 1,783,156 for White non-Hispanic women, and 984,092 for Hispanic women. The recorded maternal-death counts were 212 for Black non-Hispanic women, 254 for White non-Hispanic women, and 119 for Hispanic women. The supplied CDC figures did not state a maternal-death count for Asian non-Hispanic women in this comparison, so no count is added here.
| U.S. group, 2024 | Live births | Maternal deaths reported | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian non-Hispanic women | 226,860 | Not stated in the CDC figure listed here | 18.1 |
| Black non-Hispanic women | 473,377 | 212 | 44.8 |
| White non-Hispanic women | 1,783,156 | 254 | 14.2 |
| Hispanic women | 984,092 | 119 | 12.1 |
These categories are presented as reported by the CDC source and are not interchangeable with one another. The rates are the most direct comparison because they account for the number of live births in each group. The figures also describe one measurement year, 2024; they should not be treated as a forecast or as a measure of future maternal health outcomes.
The WHO’s global estimates and the CDC’s U.S. statistics use different geographic scopes and reporting systems. The WHO figures describe worldwide estimated mortality in 2023, including regional and country-setting comparisons. The CDC figures describe U.S. maternal deaths, rates, births, and subgroup comparisons through 2024. Keeping those scopes and measurement periods separate is essential when reading maternal health statistics.