Healthcare

Ranked: The Top 20 Causes of Death in 2021

Published

6 months ago

October 19, 2024

Jenna Ross

Graphics/Design:

Christina Kostandi

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The Top 20 Leading Causes of Death in The World

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Globally, more than 68 million people died in 2021. What were the leading causes of death?

This graphic uses the latest data from the World Health Organization to explore the main reasons people die, visualizing the top 20 causes of death globally .

Breaking Down the Leading Causes of Death in 2021

Figures are based on the latest available data from 2021, in which the top 20 causes combined accounted for 71.5% of all deaths.

The top cause of death is ischaemic heart disease, which occurs when narrowed arteries reduce blood flow and oxygen to the heart. When blood flow to the heart is completely blocked, the heart muscle cells die and this is known as a heart attack.

People are at a higher risk of ischaemic heart disease if they smoke, have high blood pressure or blood cholesterol levels, have a family history of the disease, smoke, or are obese.

Rank	Cause	Category	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
1	Ischaemic heart disease	Non-infectious disease	9.0M	13.2
2	COVID-19	Infectious disease	8.7M	12.8
3	Stroke	Non-infectious disease	7.0M	10.2
4	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	Non-infectious disease	3.5M	5.2
5	Lower respiratory infections	Infectious disease	2.5M	3.6
6	Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers	Non-infectious disease	1.9M	2.7
7	Alzheimer's disease and other dementias	Non-infectious disease	1.8M	2.7
8	Diabetes	Non-infectious disease	1.6M	2.4
9	Kidney diseases	Non-infectious disease	1.4M	2.1
10	Tuberculosis	Infectious disease	1.4M	2.0
11	Hypertensive heart disease	Non-infectious disease	1.4M	2.0
12	Cirrhosis of the liver	Non-infectious disease	1.3M	1.9
13	Diarrhoeal diseases	Infectious disease	1.2M	1.8
14	Road injury	Injury	1.2M	1.7
15	Colon and rectum cancers	Non-infectious disease	954K	1.4
16	Preterm birth complications	Newborn condition	934K	1.4
17	Stomach cancer	Non-infectious disease	856K	1.3
18	Falls	Injury	739K	1.1
19	Self-harm	Injury	726K	1.1
20	Breast cancer	Non-infectious disease	705K	1.0

Among the leading causes of death, COVID-19 took the second spot in 2021 when deaths from the virus reached their peak. It’s worth noting that the number of reported COVID-19 deaths has dropped dramatically in the last few years.

Of the top 20 causes of death, only four are infectious: COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and diarrhoeal diseases. The latter two are much less common in high-income countries.

The same is true for preterm birth complications, which are the leading cause of preventable child deaths. Children born before 37 weeks of pregnancy in high-income countries are much more likely to survive. This is because they have access to care such as warmth, breastfeeding support, and basic care for infections and breathing troubles.

Preventative Measures to Reduce Health Risks

When it comes to lowering your risk of dying from these leading causes of death, there are some steps that apply to many of the non-infectious causes:

Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Get regular exercise
Keep to a healthy weight
Do not smoke
Limit alcohol consumption
Manage blood pressure

For infectious conditions, some helpful measures can include vaccinations, following hygiene measures like washing your hands regularly, and avoiding close contact with infected people.