Global mortality statistics per year

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Global Mortality Statistics: Annual Deaths and Trends

Total Global Deaths Per Year

Recent comprehensive analyses estimate that the total number of deaths worldwide has steadily increased over the past decades, primarily due to population growth and aging. In 2015, there were approximately 55.8 million deaths globally, up from 47.5 million in 1990 and 54.9 million in 2013 Wang20168. By 2017, the number of deaths continued to rise, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounting for the majority of deaths 5Dicker2018. In 2019, the annual number of deaths among young people aged 10–24 years was about 1.49 million , and for youth aged 15–24 years, about 1.4 million .

Leading Causes of Death Worldwide

The leading causes of death globally have shifted over time, but non-communicable diseases remain dominant. In 2019, the top causes were ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections Naghavi2024Wang2016Ad2017+1 MORE. However, in 2021, COVID-19 became the second-leading cause of death, surpassing stroke . Other significant contributors include cancers, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease Wang2016Ad20175.

Communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases have seen significant declines in both total deaths and age-standardized death rates, especially due to reductions in HIV/AIDS, malaria, and neonatal complications Wang2016Ad20175+1 MORE. However, these causes still account for a large share of deaths in low-income regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia Naghavi2024Ward2021.

Age-Specific and Regional Mortality Patterns

Children under 5 years: Deaths have decreased dramatically, from over 5 million in 2017 to lower numbers in recent years, mainly due to progress against infectious diseases and neonatal complications Wang2017Dicker20188.
Adolescents and young adults (10–24 years): In 2019, 1.49 million deaths occurred in this group, with leading causes including injuries, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases Ward2021Masquelier2021.
Adults and elderly: The number of adult deaths has increased, especially in older age groups, due to the growing and aging global population Wang2017Ad20175+1 MORE.

Regional disparities remain significant. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia continue to experience higher mortality rates from communicable diseases, while high-income regions face higher burdens from NCDs Naghavi2024Wang2016Ad2017+2 MORE.

Trends Over Time

Life expectancy: Global life expectancy has increased from about 61.7 years in 1980 to 71.8 years in 2015, and further to 70.5 years for men and 75.6 years for women in 2017 Wang2016Dicker20188.
Declining death rates: Age-standardized death rates for most causes have declined, even as the absolute number of deaths has risen due to demographic changes Wang2016Ad20175+1 MORE.
Injuries and violence: While age-standardized death rates from injuries have declined, the total number of deaths from injuries has remained stable or increased slightly in some regions Wang2016Ad20175+1 MORE.

Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant spike in global mortality, becoming the second-leading cause of death in 2021 and altering the rankings of the top causes of death worldwide .

Conclusion

Each year, tens of millions of people die globally, with the total number of deaths rising due to population growth and aging. Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide, but communicable diseases remain a major concern in low-income regions. While age-standardized death rates have generally declined, absolute numbers continue to rise, highlighting the ongoing need for targeted public health interventions and continued monitoring of global mortality trends Naghavi2024Wang2016Wang2017+6 MORE.

Sources and full results

Most relevant research papers on this topic

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

COVID-19 has become the second-leading cause of death globally, replacing stroke as the second-leading cause in 2021, with the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Observational StudyHighly Cited

2024·

1540citations

·M. Naghavi et al.

Lancet (London, England)·

DOI

Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.

Global life expectancy improved from 1980 to 2015, but some countries saw life expectancy decline and age-standardised death rates increase, highlighting the need for improved health systems.

Observational StudyRigorous JournalHighly Cited

2016·

5295citations

·HaiDong Wang et al.

Lancet·

DOI

Global, regional, and national under-5 mortality, adult mortality, age-specific mortality, and life expectancy, 1970–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

From 1970 to 2016, under-5 mortality rates decreased, while adult mortality rates increased in each age group above 25 years.

Rigorous JournalHighly Cited

2017·

630citations

·HaiDong Wang et al.

Lancet (London, England)·

DOI

Global, regional, and national age-sex specific mortality for 264 causes of death, 1980–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 shows a shift towards older age-related deaths, with non-communicable diseases causing 72.3% of deaths, and highlights regional patterns in premature mortality.

Observational StudyRigorous JournalHighly Cited

2017·

4254citations

·Amanuel Alemu Cristiana Kaja M Foad Semaw Ferede Victor Ol Abajobir Abbafati Abbas Abd-Allah Abera Aboyans Ad et al.

Lancet (London, England)·

DOI

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980â•fi2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for the greatest fraction of deaths in 2017, with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional causes contributing to 18% of total deaths, and injuries accounting for 8%.

Highly Cited

2018·

4706citations

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Global life expectancy increased from 1950 to 2017, with the greatest progress in children under 5 years old, but progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults.

Observational StudyRigorous JournalHighly Cited

2018·

611citations

·D. Dicker et al.

Lancet (London, England)·

DOI

Global, regional, and national mortality among young people aged 10–24 years, 1950–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Adolescent mortality rates have decreased globally, but sex-based differences in mortality rates have widened, highlighting the need for urgent action to address specific vulnerabilities and improve data availability.

Observational StudyRigorous JournalHighly Cited

2021·

182citations

·J. Ward et al.

Lancet (London, England)·

DOI

Global , regional , and national age – sex specifi c all-cause and cause-specifi c mortality for 240 causes of death , 1990 – 2013 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

Global life expectancy increased from 653 years in 1990 to 715 years in 2013, with reductions in age-standardised death rates for cardiovascular diseases and cancers in high-income regions and child deaths from diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, and neonatal causes in low-income regions.

Meta-AnalysisHighly Cited

2015·

6318citations

Global, regional, and national mortality trends in youth aged 15–24 years between 1990 and 2019: a systematic analysis

Youth mortality rates have declined globally from 1990 to 2019, but progress needs to accelerate, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the burden is increasingly concentrated.

Observational Study

2021·

33citations

·Bruno Masquelier et al.

The Lancet. Global Health·

DOI

Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries

In 2020, female breast cancer became the most diagnosed cancer globally, with lung cancer remaining the leading cause of cancer death, and the global cancer burden is expected to rise by 47% by 2040.

Highly Cited

2021·

94177citations

·H. Sung et al.

CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians·

DOI

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