OECD: share of main causes of death worldwide in 2021

In 2021, across OECD countries, diseases of the circulatory system and cancer were the two leading causes of death, accounting for approximately 28 and 21 percent of all deaths, respectively. COVID-19 also ranked among the leading causes, contributing to approximately seven percent of total deaths. This statistic depicts the distribution of the main causes of mortality across OECD countries in 2021 or from the nearest year.

Share of the main causes of mortality across OECD countries worldwide in 2021

Characteristic	Share of all deaths
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Release date

November 2023

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Region

OECD

Survey time period

2021

Supplementary notes

Data for 2021 or nearest year.

Other causes of death not shown in the figure represent 21 percent of all deaths.

Values in the figure have been rounded up, so the total sum with "Other causes" may not precisely equal 100 percent.

Mortality rates are calculated by dividing the number of deaths recorded within a country in a given year by its population. These rates are adjusted to the age distribution of the 2015 OECD population to remove variations arising from differences in age structures across countries and over time.

The source for mortality rates is the World Health Organization (WHO) Mortality Database.

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