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Global Health Estimates: Life expectancy and leading causes of death and disability

WHO’s Global Health Estimates provide the latest available data on causes of death and disability globally, by WHO region and country, by age, sex and by income group. 

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, the Global Burden of Disease and other scientific studies. Before publishing, the GHE are reviewed by WHO Member States via consultation with national focal points and WHO country and regional offices.  


Top 10 global causes of death in 2019

Top 10 global causes of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019
  1. Ischaemic heart disease
  2. Stroke
  3. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  4. Lower respiratory infections
  5. Neonatal conditions
  6. Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers
  7. Alzheimer disease and other dementias
  8. Diarrhoeal diseases
  9. Diabetes mellitus
  10. Kidney diseases
1. Neonatal conditions
2. Ischaemic heart disease
3. Stroke
4. Lower respiratory infections
5. Diarrhoeal diseases
6. Road injury
7. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
8. Diabetes mellitus
9. Tuberculosis
10. Congenital anomalies

 

Causes of death by sex

For death and disability disaggregated by sex, annual global deaths and DALYs among women were around 15% lower than for men. However, women collectively spent about 20% more years living with disability (YLDs). In the past two decades, the greatest increase in female deaths has been from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, with nearly a threefold increase. These neurological disorders kill more females than males, with about 80% more deaths and 70% more DALYs for women than for men. 

– The top 10 causes of death fact sheet


Related indicators

Adult mortality
Causes of child death
Child mortality levels: Probability of dying per 1000 live births
Child mortality levels - Probability of dying per 1000 children, aged 5 to 14
SDG Target 16.1 | Violence
Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy
Life tables
Maternal mortality
Noncommunicable diseases: mortality
Unintentional poisoning: burden of disease
Road traffic deaths
Suicide rate estimates

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