Noncommunicable diseases

Key facts

• Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally.
• Each year, 17 million people die from a NCD before age 70; 86% of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• Of all NCD deaths, 77% are in low- and middle-income countries.
• Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths, or 17.9 million people annually, followed by cancers (9.3 million), chronic respiratory diseases (4.1 million), and diabetes (2.0 million including kidney disease deaths caused by diabetes).
• These four groups of diseases account for over 80% of all premature NCD deaths.
• Tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution all increase the risk of dying from an NCD.
• Detection, screening and treatment of NCDs, as well as palliative care, are key components of the response to NCDs.

Information presented on this page has been replicated from the linked WHO fact sheet. Please always refer to the original source on who.int for the latest version. Last update: March 2024