“Between 2000 and 2023, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR, number of maternal deaths per 100 000 live births) dropped by about 40% worldwide…
eastern Europe and southern Asia achieved the greatest overall reduction in maternal mortality ratio (MMR): a decline of 75% (from an MMR of 38 to 9) and 71% (from an MMR of 405 down to 117), respectively. Despite its very high MMR in 2023, sub-Saharan Africa also achieved a substantial reduction in MMR of 40% between 2000 and 2023.
The greatest reduction in lifetime risk of maternal death during this period occurred in the region of central and southern Asia, with an 83% fall in risk from 1 in 71 in 2000 to 1 in 410 in 2023. In five regions, the lifetime risk of maternal mortality reduced by more than half: sub-Saharan Africa, northern Africa and western Asia, Australia and New Zealand, eastern and south-eastern Asia, and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).”