Leading Causes of Mortality in the World

Causes

Number of deaths

Percentage of deaths

Total Deaths	57,027,000	100
Communicable diseases, maternal and perinatal conditions, and nutritional deficiencies	18,416,000	32.3
Infectious and parasitic diseases	11,122,000	19.5
Tuberculosis	1,605,000	2.8
STDs excluding HIV	180,000	0.3
HIV/AIDS	2,821,000	4.9
Diarrheal diseases	1,767,000	3.1
Childhood diseases	1,360,000	2.4
Meningitis	173,000	0.3
Hepatitis B	103,000	0.2
Hepatitis C	53,000	0.1
Malaria	1,222,000	2.1
Tropical diseases	130,000	0.2
Respiratory infections	3,845,000	6.7
Lower respiratory infections	3,766,000	6.6
Upper respiratory infections	75,000	0.1
Maternal conditions	510,000	0.9
Perinatal conditions	2,464,000	4.3
Nutritional deficiencies	475,000	0.8
Protein-energy malnutrition	250,000	0.4
Iron-deficiency anemia	137,000	0.2
Noncommunicable conditions	33,424,000	58.6
Malignant neoplasms	7,106,000	12.5
Mouth and oropharynx cancers	317,000	0.6
Esophagus cancer	446,000	0.8
Stomach cancer	849,000	1.5
Colon/rectum cancer	620,000	1.1
Liver cancer	619,000	1.1
Pancreas cancer	229,000	0.4
Trachea/bronchus/lung cancers	1,239,000	2.2
Melanoma and other skin cancers	66,000	0.1
Breast cancer	477,000	0.8
Cervix uteri cancer	239,000	0.4
Corpus uteri cancer	71,000	0.1
Ovary cancer	134,000	0.2
Prostate cancer	268,000	0.5
Bladder cancer	178,000	0.3
Lymphomas, multiple myeloma	334,000	0.6
Leukemia	264,000	0.5
Other neoplasms	148,000	0.3
Diabetes mellitus	987,000	1.7
Nutritional/endocrine disorders	243,000	0.4
Neuropsychiatric disorders	1,105,000	1.9
Epilepsy	125,000	0.2
Alcohol use disorders	86,000	0.2
Alzheimer's and other dementias	395,000	0.7
Parkinson disease	98,000	0.2
Drug use disorders	88,000	0.2
Cardiovascular diseases	16,655,000	29.2
Rheumatic heart disease	328,000	0.6
Hypertensive heart disease	907,000	1.6
Ischemic heart disease	7,168,000	12.6
Cerebrovascular disease	5,494,000	9.6
Inflammatory heart disease	402,000	0.7
Respiratory diseases	3,696,000	6.5
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	2,746,000	4.8
Asthma	239,000	0.4
Digestive diseases	1,963,000	3.4
Peptic ulcer disease	265,000	0.5
Cirrhosis of the liver	783,000	1.4
Diseases of the genitourinary system	847,000	1.5
Nephritis/nephrosis	677,000	1.2
Benign prostatic hypertrophy	31,000	0.1
Skin diseases	69,000	0.1
Musculoskeletal diseases	106,000	0.2
Congenital abnormalities	493,000	0.9
Injuries	5,188,000	9.1
Unintentional	3,562,000	6.2
Road traffic accidents	1,192,000	2.1
Poisoning	355,000	0.6
Falls	393,000	0.7
Fires	311,000	0.5
Drowning	385,000	0.7
Other unintentional injuries	928,000	1.6
Intentional	1,626,000	2.9
Self-inflicted	877,000	1.5
Violence	559,000	1.0
War	178,000	0.3

Source: World Health Organization, 2002 estimates.

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Human Disease

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