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Low- and middle-income countries
High-income countries
Cause Deaths Cause Deaths
(millions)
(millions)
1 Perinatal conditions 2.49 20.7% 1 Perinatal conditions 0.03 33.9%
2 Lower respiratory infections 2.04 17.0% 2 Congenital anomalies 0.02 20.0%
3 Diarrhoeal diseases 1.61 13.4% 3 Road traffic accidents 0.01 5.9%
4 Malaria 1.10 9.2% 4 Lower respiratory infections 0.00 2.5%
5 Measles 0.74 6.2% 5 Endocrine disorders 0.00 2.4%
6 HIV/AIDS 0.44 3.7% 6 Drownings 0.00 2.4%
7 Congenital anomalies 0.44 3.7% 7 Leukemia 0.00 1.9%
8 Whooping cough 0.30 2.5% 8 Violence 0.00 1.8%
9 Tetanus 0.22 1.9% 9 Fires 0.00 1.2%
10 Road traffic accidents 0.18 1.5% 10 Meningitis* 0.00 1.2%
Table 4: The 10 leading causes of death in children aged 0–14, by broad income group, 2001
60 and over in all regions. Globally, 60-year-olds have a 55%
chance of dying before their 70th birthday. Regional variations
in the risk of death are smaller at older ages than at younger
ages, ranging from around 40% in the developed countries of
Western Europe to 60% in most developing regions and 70%
in sub-Saharan Africa. Historical data from countries such as
Australia and Sweden show that life expectancy at age 60
changed slowly during the first six to seven decades of the
20th century, but started to increase substantially since
around 1970. Life expectancy at age 60 has now reached 25
years in Japan. In Eastern Europe from 1990 onwards,
Hungary, and Poland started to experience similar
improvements in mortality for older people, but Russia has
not, and is actually experiencing a worsening trend.
Regional variations in causes of death
The 10 leading causes of mortality differ greatly between
regions (Table 6). IHD and cerebrovascular disease are
among the top four causes of death in all low- and middleincome
regions except sub-Saharan Africa, where they are
8th and 7th, respectively. Cerebrovascular disease is the
leading cause of death in East Asia and the Pacific, unlike in
most other regions, where IHD causes more deaths than
cerebrovascular disease. In sub-Saharan Africa, 6 of the top
10 causes are communicable diseases, with HIV/AIDS being
the leading cause of death, followed by malaria and lower
respiratory infections.
South Asia (mainly India) and Latin America and the
Caribbean are the only two other low- and middle-income
regions where HIV/AIDS is one of the top 10 causes of death.
Lower respiratory infections, primarily pneumonia, are the
third leading cause of death, especially among children
under five, who account for 60% of these deaths. Chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease kills more people (1.4 million)
in the East Asia and Pacific region, primarily China, than
anywhere else in the world, with 50% of global mortality
from the disease occurring there.
Europe and Central Asia differs from all other low- and
middle-income regions in the size of the CVD epidemic (with
almost 60% of deaths due to CVD), followed by trachea,
bronchus, and lung cancers in third place. Self-inflicted injuries
(suicide) are the fifth leading cause of death in this region.
South Asia is the only other region where suicide is in the top
10 causes of death. Latin America and the Caribbean is
distinguished as the only region where violence falls in the top
10 causes of death, responsible for 1 in 25 deaths. In all lowand
middle-income regions apart from Europe and Central Asia,
road traffic accidents are included among the top 10 causes of
death, reaching fifth position in the Middle East and North
Africa, where they are responsible for 1 in 20 deaths.
Global burden of disease in 2001
The 20 leading causes of burden of disease for both sexes
together are shown in Table 7. While the two leading causes
Low- and middle-income countries
High-income countries
Cause Deaths Cause Deaths
(millions)
(millions)
1 HIV/AIDS 2.05 14.1% 1 Ischaemic heart disease 0.13 10.8%
2 Ischaemic heart disease 1.18 8.1% 2 Self-inflicted injuries 0.09 7.2%
3 Tuberculosis 1.03 7.1% 3 Road traffic accidents 0.08 6.9%
4 Road traffic accidents 0.73 5.0% 4 Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers 0.08 6.8%
5 Cerebrovascular disease 0.71 4.9% 5 Cerebrovascular disease 0.05 4.4%
6 Self-inflicted injuries 0.58 4.0% 6 Cirrhosis of the liver 0.05 4.4%
7 Violence 0.45 3.1% 7 Breast cancer 0.05 4.0%
8 Lower respiratory infections 0.33 2.3% 8 Colon and rectum cancers 0.04 3.1%
9 Cirrhosis of the liver 0.32 2.2% 9 Diabetes mellitus 0.03 2.1%
10 Chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease 0.32 2.2% 10 Stomach cancer 0.02 2.0%
Table 5: The 10 leading causes of death in adults aged 15–59, by broad income group, 2001
170 ✜ Global Forum Update on Research for Health Volume 4