🥦 Diet low in vegetables
Insufficient vegetable intake (<360g/day) reduces protective nutrients and increases chronic disease risk.
Compared to Other Dietary Risks (2023)
How diet low in vegetables compares against the other four GBD dietary risk factors in global attributable deaths.
Global Deaths Over Time (1990–2023)
Deaths by Region (2023)
Attributable deaths from diet low in vegetables aggregated by world region.
Associated Diseases
Low vegetables is linked to increased risk of the following conditions according to the GBD study:
Highest Death Rate by Country (2023)
Ranked by deaths per 100,000 population — a fairer comparison than absolute numbers. Countries under 100,000 population excluded.
| # | Country | Deaths | Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solomon Islands | 499 | 62.4 |
| 2 | Estonia | 794 | 58.1 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 3,458 | 50.9 |
| 4 | Haiti | 5,081 | 43.7 |
| 5 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 44 | 43.4 |
| 6 | Micronesia (country) | 48 | 42.6 |
| 7 | Moldova | 948 | 36.9 |
| 8 | Eritrea | 1,376 | 36.7 |
| 9 | Serbia | 2,416 | 35.7 |
| 10 | Puerto Rico | 1,076 | 33.4 |
| 11 | Latvia | 615 | 32.7 |
| 12 | Samoa | 66 | 30.5 |
| 13 | Saint Lucia | 53 | 29.6 |
| 14 | Trinidad and Tobago | 441 | 29.3 |
| 15 | Hungary | 2,829 | 29.2 |
| 16 | Tonga | 30 | 28.7 |
| 17 | Bahamas | 110 | 27.5 |
| 18 | Croatia | 1,064 | 27.3 |
| 19 | Lithuania | 765 | 26.8 |
| 20 | East Timor | 369 | 26.7 |
Lowest Death Rate by Country (2023)
Ranked by deaths per 100,000 population. Countries under 100,000 population excluded.
| # | Country | Deaths | Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 24 | 0.8 |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 458 | 1.3 |
| 3 | Turkey | 1,468 | 1.7 |
| 4 | Albania | 48 | 1.7 |
| 5 | China | 34,006 | 2.3 |
| 6 | Israel | 254 | 2.7 |
| 7 | Kuwait | 136 | 2.8 |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | 296 | 2.8 |
| 9 | Tajikistan | 357 | 3.4 |
| 10 | Tunisia | 435 | 3.6 |
| 11 | Bahrain | 62 | 3.9 |
| 12 | Niger | 1,142 | 4.4 |
| 13 | Kyrgyzstan | 323 | 4.6 |
| 14 | Kazakhstan | 938 | 4.6 |
| 15 | Oman | 258 | 5.1 |
| 16 | South Korea | 2,870 | 5.5 |
| 17 | Singapore | 337 | 5.7 |
| 18 | North Macedonia | 105 | 5.7 |
| 19 | Egypt | 6,784 | 5.9 |
| 20 | Turkmenistan | 444 | 6.0 |
Vegetables to Eat More Of
Increasing vegetable intake above 360g/day helps reduce ischemic heart disease, stroke, and esophageal cancer risk. Explore these nutrient-dense options:
Other Dietary Risk Factors
🔗 Related from the Mortality Explorer
This dietary risk factor is also tracked in our sister project, the Human Mortality Explorer, which examines all-cause mortality across 204 countries.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people die from diet low in vegetables each year?
According to the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study, diet low in vegetables was responsible for approximately 933,325 deaths globally in 2023, making it the #4 dietary risk factor worldwide.
Which countries have the highest death rate from diet low in vegetables?
The countries with the highest per-capita death rate attributed to diet low in vegetables are Solomon Islands, Estonia, Bulgaria. Per-capita rates provide a fairer comparison than absolute numbers, which are dominated by population size.
What diseases are linked to diet low in vegetables?
The GBD study links diet low in vegetables to increased risk of: Ischemic heart disease, Stroke, Esophageal cancer. These associations are based on meta-analyses of epidemiological studies.
What is considered a safe level for this dietary risk?
Insufficient vegetable intake (<360g/day) reduces protective nutrients and increases chronic disease risk.