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Cause-specific mortality, 2000–2021

Causes of death and disability can be grouped into three large categories: communicable (infectious diseases, along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions), noncommunicable (chronic diseases) and injuries.

Monitoring the yearly number of deaths helps to address their causes and adapt health systems to react effectively, triggering responses of multiple sectors: from transportation (in addressing road traffic accidents) to food and agriculture (in tackling the rise in diabetes prevalence) and mental health support (in early detection of mental health conditions). 

Understanding the reasons why people die, can help comprehend the ways people live to improve health services and reduce preventable deaths in every country, responding effectively to changing epidemiological circumstances.

 

Summary findings

  • Noncommunicable diseases have become more prominent with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes entering whereas communicable diseases are on the decline with HIV dropping out of the top 10.
  • The world’s biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 13% of the world’s total deaths. Since 2000, the largest increase in deaths has been for this disease, rising by 2.7 million to 9.0 million deaths in 2021.
  • As a newly emerged cause of deaths, COVID-19 was directly responsible for 8.7 million deaths in 2021.
  • Lower respiratory infections remained the world’s most deadly communicable disease other than COVID-19, ranked as the fifth leading cause of death in 2021, although the total number of deaths from lower respiratory infections has decreased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHO methods and data sources for country-level causes of death 2000-2021

Top 10 Causes of Death

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Communicable
Non-communicable
Injuries

Underlying Data

Cause Value Category

Data download

About the download files

 

The latest global, regional and country-level cause-specific mortality estimates for the year 2000, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021 are available for download below.

Recommended citation: Global Health Estimates 2021: Deaths by Cause, Age, Sex, by Country and by Region, 2000-2021. Geneva, World Health Organization; 2024.

A summary of data sources and methods is available. Due to changes in data and some methods, the 2000–2021 estimates are not comparable to previously-released WHO estimates. 

 

WHO methods and data sources or country-level causes of death, 2000-2021

 

GLOBAL AND BY REGION 

Summary tables of mortality estimates by cause, age and sex, globally and by region, 2000–2021

Global summary estimates ¦  WHO regions ¦  World Bank income groups

 

BY COUNTRY

Summary tables of mortality estimates by cause, age and sex, by country, 2000–2021

Estimated deaths ('000) by age, cause and sex

WHO Member States, 2000 ¦  WHO Member States, 2010 ¦  WHO Member States, 2015 ¦  WHO Member States, 2019 ¦   WHO Member States, 2020 ¦   WHO Member States, 2021

Death rates

 

WHO Member States, age-standardized death rates, 2021 | WHO Member States, crude death rates, 2021 


 

Leading causes of death and disability

WHO’s Global Health Estimates (GHE) provide the latest available data on causes of death and disability globally, by region and country, and by age, sex and income group. They provide key insights on mortality and morbidity trends to support informed decision-making on health policy and resource allocation. 

These estimates are produced using data from multiple sources, including national vital registration data, latest estimates from WHO technical programmes, United Nations partners and inter-agency groups, as well as the Global Burden of Disease and other scientific studies. Before publishing, the GHE are reviewed by WHO Member States through consultation with national focal points and WHO country and regional offices. 

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