Isqeel Ogunsola - Department of Statistics, College of Physical Sciences, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State
Jeremiah Akinpeloye - Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Publich Health, University of Ibadan
Lawal Dada - Department of Statistics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

The consequences of Maternal Mortality (MM) cannot be overemphasized. It inhibits population growth resulting into loss of lives among others. This work tends to obtain the maternal mortality rates (MMR) in Nigeria, identify some fitted distributions to MMR and determine which of the distributions best fits the data. A comprehensive Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) was carried on MM and the MMRs were obtained. Two parameters Gamma distribution, Weibull and Exponential distributions were fitted for MM. Both BIC and AIC selection criteria were adopted in selecting the most fitted distribution. The AIC for Gamma, Weibull and Exponential distributions fitted for MMR were ۱۳۳۹.۳۹۶, ۱۳۴۰.۱۶۱ and ۳۷۰.۵۲۴۴ respectively. Also, the BIC for Gamma, Weibull and Exponential distributions fitted for MM were ۱۳۴۴.۹۷۱, ۱۳۴۵.۷۳۶ and ۳۷۳.۳۱۱۹ respectively. It can be observed that Exponential distribution has the least AIC (۳۷۰.۵۲۴۴) and least BIC (۳۷۳.۳۱۱۹), therefore, it is the most fitted distribution for MM. The estimate (standard error) of exponential distribution on MM is ۰.۵۸۵۳ indicating the fitness of the distribution being the one with the least error. Conclusively, the model obtained from this study can be used to study and monitor MM in Nigeria to achieve a better economy and thus brings about local and national development.

Maternal mortality (MM), MMR, Probability distribution, EDA, BIC