The Top 10 Causes of Death

This WHO fact sheet summarizes the leading causes of death globally and by income group from Global Health Estimates data covering 2000–2021. It provides both the 2021 ranking and the 20-year trend, making it possible to track which diseases are growing in burden and which are receding.

The 2021 global picture: the top 10 causes of death accounted for 39 million deaths, representing 57% of the total 68 million deaths worldwide. Seven of the 10 leading causes were noncommunicable diseases, which accounted for 38% of all global deaths in 2021.

Ischaemic heart disease is the world’s biggest killer — responsible for 13% of total global deaths and 9.1 million deaths in 2021. The 20-year trend is particularly striking: ischaemic heart disease deaths increased by 2.7 million since 2000, the largest absolute increase of any single disease. While age-standardized rates have declined in high-income countries, absolute deaths have risen globally because of population growth and aging, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where prevention infrastructure is less developed.

Stroke was the third leading global cause of death in 2021 (after ischaemic heart disease and COVID-19) and the second leading cause in 2019 before COVID-19 emerged. Together, ischaemic heart disease and stroke account for approximately 23% of all global deaths.

The income group analysis is revealing. In high-income countries, noncommunicable diseases dominate; in low-income countries, communicable diseases and lower respiratory infections remain significant. But ischaemic heart disease appears in the top 10 for every income group, confirming that cardiovascular disease is a universal rather than exclusively a disease of affluence.

We rate the evidence strong. The WHO Top 10 Causes of Death fact sheet, based on Global Health Estimates covering 2000–2021, establishes ischaemic heart disease as the world’s leading killer — responsible for 13% of all global deaths in 2021, with the largest absolute increase of any disease over the past 20 years.