How Death Rates Have Changed
Track long-term mortality trends from 1990 to 2023. See which causes of death are rising and falling for any country or the world.
| Cause | Earliest Rate | Latest Rate | Change | % Change | Direction |
|---|
This chart shows excess mortality — the gap between actual deaths and expected deaths based on pre-pandemic trends. A spike in 2020-2021 followed by recovery indicates the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption to long-term mortality improvement.
Sigma convergence occurs when the dispersion of death rates across countries decreases over time. A falling coefficient of variation or Gini coefficient indicates convergence — countries are becoming more similar. A rising value indicates divergence.
Negative values indicate improving (declining) death rates. The zero line represents no change. Smoothed using 3-year moving averages to reduce noise.
Mortality Trends Over Time
How death rates have evolved from 1990 to 2023
Understanding how causes of death change over time is essential for public health planning. The Trends tool visualises three decades of mortality data, showing how death rates for cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious diseases, injuries, and other causes have risen or fallen across 204 countries.
Select any country to see its mortality trajectory. Filter by specific causes to compare how different diseases have evolved. The data table provides exact rates for the first and last available years along with absolute and percentage changes, making it easy to identify which health challenges are improving and which are worsening.
How have global death rates changed since 1990?
Global age-standardised death rates have declined substantially since 1990, with the largest reductions in communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and diarrhoeal diseases. Cardiovascular mortality has also fallen in most regions, though non-communicable diseases now represent a growing share of total deaths.
Which cause of death has decreased the most since 1990?
Lower respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases have seen some of the largest declines globally, driven by improved sanitation, vaccination, and oral rehydration therapy. In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS mortality has fallen dramatically since the rollout of antiretroviral therapy in the mid-2000s.
Are any causes of death increasing?
In some countries, deaths from substance use disorders, self-harm, and certain cancers have increased. The opioid crisis drove a notable rise in drug-related deaths in North America. Diabetes mortality has also risen in many middle-income countries. Use the Trends tool to see country-specific trajectories.