Never forgotten: the situation of stillbirth around the globe
In 2021, an estimated 1.9 million babies were stillborn at 28 weeks of pregnancy or later, with a global stillbirth rate of 13.9 stillbirths per 1,000 total births. These losses, however, are not experienced uniformly. The report reveals huge differences in stillbirth rates across the globe, with a risk that is 20 times higher in the country with the highest stillbirth rate compared to the country with the lowest stillbirth rate. Stillbirths were concentrated in a few countries, with the greatest number found in India, followed by Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. These six countries accounted for almost half of the estimated global number of stillbirths and 36 per cent of global live births in 2021.
