India was among the countries in South Asia and others in sub-Saharan Africa with the highest number of maternal deaths in 2023 of 24,700 per one lakh live births, according to a new global analysis published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Women's Health journal.

Estimates suggest that Pakistan saw 10,300 maternal deaths per one lakh livebirths the same year, while the African countries of Ethiopia and Nigeria had 11,900 maternal deaths per one lakh livebirths and 32,900 maternal deaths per one lakh livebirths, respectively.

Researchers, led by those from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the US' University of Washington and global collaborators, noted that maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, yet progress has slowed in recent years and remains uneven across countries.

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 research provides the most up-to-date global assessment of maternal mortality trends across 204 countries and territories through 2023, they said.

The world saw a total of 2.4 lakh maternal deaths in 2023, which equates to a global maternal mortality ratio of 190.5 maternal deaths per one lakh livebirths -- a decline by more than one-third from 321 maternal deaths per one lakh livebirths in 1990, the researchers estimated.

However, 104 of 204 countries and territories have yet to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of a maternal mortality ratio of under 70 per one lakh livebirths, the team said.

While leading causes of maternal deaths were found to vary by location, maternal haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were responsible for the largest share of deaths globally. Improved access to antenatal care, safe delivery services, emergency obstetric care, and post-partum follow-up could substantially reduce mortality, especially in countries with the highest burdens, the researchers said.

The COVID-19 infection also led to increases in maternal mortality early in the pandemic. Before widespread vaccination, during 2020-2021, COVID-19 caused temporary increases in maternal deaths in regions and locations with a high COVID-19 mortality, the team said.

They added that with less than five years remaining to meet the SDG target, a renewed global action and sustained investment will be needed to accelerate progress, strengthen health systems, and improve countries' ability to monitor and reduce maternal mortality.

The latest official Sample Registration System (SRS) figure for 2020-22 puts India's Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) at 88 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births, down from 93 in 2019-21 and 130 in 2014-16.

A 2025 analysis by the United Nations' Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-agency Group (UN-MMEIG) estimates that India's MMR fell about 23 points between 2020 and 2023, continuing the long-term downward trend.