Girls' health has improved in 178 countries since 2000, and their death rate has more than halved
The first World Girls' Index, from Plan International and Ruhr University Bochum, covers 971 million girls aged 5 to 19. In 2000 almost 1 in 800 died; by 2023 it was 1 in 1,700. But 290 million still live in countries with low scores.
Here is good news that touches almost a billion people: the world’s girls are healthier today than they were a quarter of a century ago. That is the finding of the first World Girls’ Index (Weltmädchenindex), produced by Plan International Germany and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr University Bochum, and released ahead of the International Day of the Girl on 11 October.
The index compares the health of around 971 million girls aged 5 to 19 in 192 countries between 2000 and 2023. In 178 of them, things got better.
Tap Next to walk through the data step by step.
Fewer deaths, fewer teen pregnancies
Two changes drive most of the progress. The first is survival: in 2000, almost 1 in 800 girls aged 5 to 19 died on average; in 2023, 1 in 1,700. The death rate has more than halved.
The second is teen pregnancy, which has fallen by a third. In 2000, 1 in 31 girls aged 10 to 19 gave birth on average; in 2023, 1 in 48. The report highlights Bangladesh, which more than halved its adolescent birth rate mainly through education: a stipend programme designed to get girls into secondary school and curb early marriage.
The regions that started lowest are moving fastest
Every region in the world improved on average, and the biggest gains came where things were worst: Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Among countries, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Burundi lead the way.
What still needs fixing
The report is careful not to tell a simple success story. Around 290 million girls – 30% of the total – still live in 66 countries with low or very low health scores. That is a lot, though in 2000 it was almost half of all girls. Maternal deaths and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, have barely improved: almost five girls and young women die every hour from pregnancy or childbirth. And the gap between countries, which was narrowest in 2020 and 2021, has been widening again since 2022.
The authors describe this edition as a prototype focused on health. The full index, due in 2028, will add education, protection and participation. For now, its data already shows something important: investing in girls’ health and education works – in countries all over the world.
How we made this chart: the figures are those published in the World Girls’ Index 2026 report (pages 10 to 13), with no calculations of our own. The index converts five indicators (girls’ deaths, teen births, maternal deaths, anaemia and sexually transmitted infections) to a common 0-100 scale, using UN data and the Global Burden of Disease study. That is why the charts show index points of improvement, not rates.
