The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the global death rate, but had little to no significant impact on birth rates, causing population growth to dip slightly. On a global level, population growth is determined by the difference between the birth and death rate, and this is known as the rate of natural change - on a national or regional level, population change is also affected by migration. Ongoing trends Since the middle of the 20th century, the global birth rate has been well above the global death rate, however, the gap between these figures has grown closer in recent years. The death rate is projected to overtake the birth rate in the 2080s, which means that the world's population will then go into decline. In the future, death rates will increase due to ageing populations across the world and a plateau in life expectancy. Why does this change? There are many reasons for falling death and birth rates in recent decades. Falling death rates have been driven by a reduction in infant and child mortality, as well as increased life expectancy. Falling birth rates were also driven by the reduction in child mortality, whereby mothers would have fewer children as survival rates rose - other factors include the drop in child marriage, improved contraception access and efficacy, and women choosing to have children later in life.

In 2024, the mortality rate in China ranged at approximately 7.76 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The mortality rate in China displayed an uneven development over the last two decades. This is mainly related to the very uneven sizes of Chinese age groups, improvements in health care, and the occurrence of epidemics. However, an overall growing trend is undisputable and related to China's aging population. As the share of the population aged 60 and above will be growing significantly over the upcoming two decades, the mortality rate will further increase in the years ahead. Population in China China was the second most populous country in the world in 2024. However, due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades and finally turned negative in 2022. The major factor for this development was a set of policies introduced by the Chinese government in 1979, including the so-called one-child policy, which was intended to improve people’s living standards by limiting the population growth. However, with the decreasing birth rate and slower population growth, China nowadays is facing the problems of a rapidly aging population. Birth control in China According to the one-child policy, a married couple was only allowed to have one child. Only under certain circumstances were parents allowed to have a second child. As the performance of family control had long been related to the assessment of local government’s achievements, violations of the rule were severely punished. The birth control in China led to a decreasing birth rate and a more skewed gender ratio of new births due to a widely preference for male children in the Chinese society. Nowadays, since China’s population is aging rapidly, the one-child policy has been re-considered as an obstacle for the country’s further economic development. Since 2014, the one-child policy has been gradually relaxed and fully eliminated at the end of 2015. In May 2021, a new three-child policy has been introduced. However, many young Chinese people today are not willing to have more children due to high costs of raising a child, especially in urban areas.

In 2022, the death rate in the United States decreased by 0.6 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (-5.77 percent) compared to 2021. Nevertheless, the last two years recorded a significantly higher death rate than the preceding years.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as total fertility rate, life expectancy of men at birth, and infant mortality rate.

The death rate in China increased by 0.2 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (+2.79 percent) in 2022 in comparison to the previous year. With 7.37 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, the death rate thereby reached its highest value in the observed period. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about China with key insights such as total fertility rate, crude birth rate, and number of tuberculosis infections .

In the United States in 2021, the death rate was highest among those aged 85 and over, with about 17,190.5 men and 14,914.5 women per 100,000 of the population passing away. For all ages, the death rate was at 1,118.2 per 100,000 of the population for males, and 970.8 per 100,000 of the population for women. The death rate Death rates generally are counted as the number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 of the population and include both deaths of natural and unnatural causes. The death rate in the United States had pretty much held steady since 1990 until it started to increase over the last decade, with the highest death rates recorded in recent years. While the birth rate in the United States has been decreasing, it is still currently higher than the death rate. Causes of death There are a myriad number of causes of death in the United States, but the most recent data shows the top three leading causes of death to be heart disease, cancers, and accidents. Heart disease was also the leading cause of death worldwide.

The death rate in Togo saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 8.21 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless, this was the first time during the observed period that the death rate increased in Togo. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more key insights for the death rate in countries like Sierra Leone.

In 2023, there were approximately 750.5 deaths by all causes per 100,000 inhabitants in the United States. This statistic shows the death rate for all causes in the United States between 1950 and 2023. Causes of death in the U.S. Over the past decades, chronic conditions and non-communicable diseases have come to the forefront of health concerns and have contributed to major causes of death all over the globe. In 2022, the leading cause of death in the U.S. was heart disease, followed by cancer. However, the death rates for both heart disease and cancer have decreased in the U.S. over the past two decades. On the other hand, the number of deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease – which is strongly linked to cardiovascular disease- has increased by almost 141 percent between 2000 and 2021. Risk and lifestyle factors Lifestyle factors play a major role in cardiovascular health and the development of various diseases and conditions. Modifiable lifestyle factors that are known to reduce risk of both cancer and cardiovascular disease among people of all ages include smoking cessation, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising regularly. An estimated two million new cases of cancer in the U.S. are expected in 2025.

The death rate in Russia declined to 12.9 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022. This decrease was preceded by an increase in death rate.The crude death rate refers to the number of deaths in a given year, expressed per 1,000 population. When studied in combination with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural population increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Russia with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, total fertility rate, and infant mortality rate.

The death rate in Germany increased by 0.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (+3.25 percent) in 2022. While the growth is slowing down, with 12.7 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, the death rate is at its peak in the observed period. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths divided by the total population, expressed per 1,000 people.Find more statistics on other topics about Germany with key insights such as life expectancy of women at birth, total life expectancy at birth, and total fertility rate.

In 2024, the total number of deaths in China amounted to around 10.93 million. The number of deaths increased slightly but steadily over the past two decades, only disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. This trend is mainly related to China’s demographic development and is expected to accelerate in the upcoming years. China’s aging society China had the second largest population on earth in 2024. However, population growth in China has gradually decreased over the last decades and finally turned negative in 2022. Together with steadily improving health standards and growing life expectancy, this has led to a quickly aging society. As relatively large age cohorts are now reaching the years of retirement, the number of elderly in the country is projected to increase quickly. This is especially visible in the number of people aged 80 years and above, which is expected to rise more than four-fold from 32 million in 2020 to 132 million in 2050. This development will probably be the main factor leading to a growing number of mortalities in China in the upcoming years. China’s mortality rate in comparison Globally, China’s mortality rate is at a low range at slightly less than eight deaths per thousand inhabitants annually. The low mortality rate was a result of political stability and steady improvements in the health system. As the Chinese population grows older, cancer, heart attacks, and cerebrovascular diseases are increasingly common causes of death. In comparison to most Western countries, the number of fatalities due to COVID-19 was low in 2020 and 2021, but there was a slight excess mortality in 2023 and. Most common infectious diseases with high death rates in China were AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Hepatitis B in 2021.

The death rate in Chad decreased by 0.3 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (-2.4 percent) in 2022 in comparison to the previous year. This marks the lowest death rate during the observed period. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Chad with key insights such as infant mortality rate, total fertility rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

The death rate in Mali decreased to 8.95 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the previous year. The death rate thereby reached its lowest value in recent years. Notably, the death rate is continuously decreasing over the last years.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Mali with key insights such as crude birth rate, total fertility rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

The death rate in Angola decreased to 7.86 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the previous year. This decrease was preceded by an increase in death rate.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Angola with key insights such as fertility rate of women aged between 15 and 19 years old, infant mortality rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

The death rate in Senegal declined to 5.55 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022. This decrease was preceded by an increase in death rate.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Senegal with key insights such as total fertility rate, total life expectancy at birth, and crude birth rate.

The death rate in Japan increased by 1.2 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (+10.26 percent) in 2022 in comparison to the previous year. Therefore, the death rate in Japan reached a peak in 2022 with 12.9 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths divided by the total population, expressed per 1,000 people.Find more statistics on other topics about Japan with key insights such as infant mortality rate, life expectancy of men at birth, and total life expectancy at birth.

The death rate in Djibouti declined to 8.96 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022. This decrease was preceded by an increase in death rate.The crude death rate refers to the number of deaths in a given year, expressed per 1,000 population. When studied in combination with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural population increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Djibouti with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, crude birth rate, and total fertility rate.

The death rate in Brazil decreased by 0.2 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (-2.4 percent) compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the last two years recorded a significantly higher death rate than the preceding years.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Brazil with key insights such as total fertility rate, infant mortality rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

The death rate in Madagascar declined to 6.8 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022. This decrease was preceded by an increase in death rate.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Madagascar with key insights such as infant mortality rate, total life expectancy at birth, and crude birth rate.

The death rate in Samoa increased by 0.1 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (+1.87 percent) compared to the previous year. In total, the death rate amounted to 5.45 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022. The crude death rate refers to the number of deaths in a given year, expressed per 1,000 population. When studied in combination with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural population increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Samoa with key insights such as infant mortality rate, total fertility rate, and crude birth rate.

The death rate in Portugal saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 11.9 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. In comparison to 2021, the death rate decreased not significantly by 0.1 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (-0.83 percent). The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Portugal with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate, and crude birth rate.