How Many People Die Each Year Worldwide, and From What?

Every year, tens of millions of people die. Counting them, and knowing what they died of, is how the world decides where to spend money on health. The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes global estimates, and they are updated as new data come in. This article explains what the latest ones say and why the numbers shift.

How many people die each year?

About 61 million in 2023, according to the WHO’s revised estimates as reported by Health Policy Watch. Earlier WHO estimates were about 55.4 million deaths in 2019 and about 68 million in 2021, when COVID-19 was at its peak. These are estimates, not exact counts, and they are revised when better data are available. Health Policy Watch notes, for example, that revised figures now rank COVID-19 as the world’s leading cause of death in 2021, with 9.4 million direct deaths. The earlier WHO fact sheet had ranked it second.

What is the leading cause of death?

Heart disease, for decades. In 2023, ischaemic heart disease killed about 9.5 million people, or 16 percent of the 61 million deaths worldwide, according to the WHO fact sheet reported by Health Policy Watch. Stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) come next. Eight of the ten leading causes in 2023 were noncommunicable diseases, meaning long-term conditions that do not spread from person to person. COVID-19, which had been in the top ten since the pandemic began, dropped out for the first time. In earlier WHO data from 2019, the ten leading causes accounted for 55 percent of all deaths.

How do rich and poor countries differ?

A great deal. In low-income countries, seven of the ten leading causes of death in 2023 were still communicable diseases, Health Policy Watch reports. Malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV remained in the top ten, though deaths from all three fell significantly. In the WHO’s 2021 fact sheet, eight of the top ten causes in low-income countries were communicable. Lower-middle-income countries had a more even mix of both kinds. In high-income countries, by contrast, heart disease, stroke, and stomach cancer deaths fell by 18, 26, and 27 percent, and dementia climbed. Women accounted for 66 percent of dementia deaths worldwide.

Are people living longer?

Yes. The WHO reported that global average life expectancy was more than 73 years in 2019, up from nearly 67 in 2000, with the biggest gains in the least-developed regions. See How the Life Expectancy of Americans Changed Over the Last Century for the U.S. story.

How does this compare with the United States?

The top killers are similar, with heart disease first, but the mix differs. In the U.S., for example, accidents and suicide appear in the top ten. See What Are the Leading Causes of Death in the United States?.

Why do the numbers change?

Because they are estimates built from many sources, and a pandemic and better data keep changing the picture. When you see a global figure, check the year, and whether it comes from an original or a revised estimate. For the longer view on how long people can live, see Can Humans Live Forever?.