Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Europe & Central Asia

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) — principally chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma — kill over 4 million people each year. COPD alone is the third leading cause of death worldwide, characterised by progressive airflow limitation from chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Tobacco smoking is the predominant risk factor in high-income countries, while household air pollution from solid-fuel cooking is equally important in low- and middle-income settings. Occupational dust and chemical exposures, outdoor air pollution, and a history of childhood respiratory infections also contribute. The disease burden falls disproportionately on South and East Asia, where biomass fuel use remains widespread. Asthma, though generally less lethal, affects over 260 million people globally and can be fatal when poorly managed. CRD mortality has declined modestly in recent decades in high-income countries owing to smoking reductions, but remains high where tobacco epidemics are maturing and indoor air quality is poor. Under-diagnosis is a major challenge: the majority of COPD cases in low-income countries are never formally diagnosed. Europe and Central Asia benefit from relatively strong health systems and high physician density, but face ageing populations, rising non-communicable disease burdens, and persistent East-West health outcome gradients. In Europe & Central Asia, chronic respiratory diseases mortality is near global averages, though the region exhibits a marked gradient between Western European countries with low rates and Central Asian nations facing higher burdens.

Tobacco cessation is the single most effective intervention for preventing COPD progression. Clean-cooking solutions — improved stoves, transition to LPG or electric fuel — address household air pollution, which causes COPD in millions of non-smokers. Inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators improve asthma control and reduce exacerbations. Pulmonary rehabilitation programmes improve quality of life for COPD patients. Ambient air quality regulations, occupational health standards, and childhood pneumonia vaccination (reducing lung damage) round out the population-level prevention portfolio.

The mortality estimates presented on this page are derived from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, produced by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The GBD synthesizes data from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, cancer registries, and surveillance networks across more than 200 countries and territories. Death rates are expressed per 100,000 population and are age-standardized, which adjusts for differences in age structure between populations so that comparisons across countries and over time reflect genuine differences in mortality risk rather than demographic composition.

The dataset typically covers the period from 1990 to 2023, although availability varies by country and cause. When interpreting the figures for chronic respiratory diseases in Europe & Central Asia, note that higher age-standardized rates indicate a greater mortality burden independent of whether a country's population is older or younger. Trends over time reveal whether public health interventions, economic development, and health system improvements have reduced or increased the toll of this condition in the region.

The cause-of-death categories used on this page follow the Global Burden of Disease cause hierarchy, a standardized classification that groups individual ICD-coded causes into clinically meaningful categories. The "share of deaths" metric shows what percentage of all deaths in a given country or region are attributed to chronic respiratory diseases. A rising share does not necessarily mean more people are dying from this cause — it may reflect success in reducing competing causes of death. Always examine both absolute rates and shares for a complete picture of mortality patterns in Europe & Central Asia.

Global Chronic Respiratory Diseases All Europe & Central Asia Data Global Explorer Compare Countries Chronic Respiratory Diseases in East Asia & Pacific Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Latin America & Caribbean Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan