In 2021, the leading causes of death in lower-middle income countries worldwide were COVID-19, ischemic heart disease, and stroke. That year, COVID-19 resulted in around 3.94 million deaths in lower-middle income countries, over a million more deaths than ischemic heart disease, the second leading cause of death for countries in this income group. This statistic displays the number of deaths for the leading causes of death in lower-middle income countries in 2021.

In 2021, COVID-19 caused about ** deaths per 100,000 population in upper-middle-income countries, making it the third leading cause of death. The leading causes of death in upper-middle-income countries that year were stroke and ischemic heart disease. This statistic displays the leading causes of death in upper-middle-income countries in 2021, by deaths per 100,000 population

The average for 2022 based on 52 countries was 8.8 deaths per 1000 people. The highest value was in Bulgaria: 18.4 deaths per 1000 people and the lowest value was in the Maldives: 2.78 deaths per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Income Protection Insurance Market Outlook

The global income protection insurance market size was valued at USD 8.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 13.7 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%. This notable growth is primarily driven by increasing awareness regarding financial security and the need for income sustainability during unforeseen events such as illness or job loss. The rising incidence of chronic diseases, coupled with the unpredictable economic environment, further fuels the demand for such insurance products.

The market is significantly propelled by the growing awareness among consumers about the importance of financial planning and risk management. As individuals become more cognizant of the financial risks posed by sudden income loss due to health issues or job instability, there is an increasing inclination towards income protection insurance. This trend is particularly strong among young professionals and the middle-aged working population who seek to safeguard their financial future. Additionally, the increasing penetration of digital platforms has made it easier for consumers to research and purchase income protection policies, thereby boosting the market's growth.

Another driving factor is the rising prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases and mental health issues, which contribute to an increased likelihood of prolonged work absences. With the growing burden of such diseases, there is a heightened awareness of the need for income protection to cover medical expenses and maintain household income. Furthermore, employers are increasingly offering income protection insurance as part of their employee benefits packages, recognizing its importance in attracting and retaining talent. This trend is particularly notable in industries with high-stress levels and health risks, such as IT, finance, and healthcare.

Economic uncertainties and the increasing volatility in job markets also play a vital role in the growth of the income protection insurance market. The COVID-19 pandemic has exemplified the critical need for financial protection, as many individuals faced unexpected job losses or reduced income. This has led to a surge in demand for income protection insurance as people seek to secure their livelihoods against future economic shocks. Moreover, regulatory changes and government initiatives aimed at promoting insurance penetration and financial literacy are likely to further support market growth.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance is another critical component of financial protection that complements income protection insurance. While income protection insurance primarily focuses on replacing lost income due to illness or injury, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance provides financial compensation in the event of severe accidents leading to death or significant bodily harm. This type of insurance is particularly valuable for individuals in high-risk occupations or those who engage in activities with a higher likelihood of accidents. It offers peace of mind by ensuring that beneficiaries receive financial support to cover expenses such as medical bills, funeral costs, and ongoing living expenses, thereby safeguarding their financial stability during challenging times.

Regionally, North America and Europe have traditionally dominated the income protection insurance market, driven by high awareness levels and well-established insurance sectors. However, the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the rapidly increasing middle-class population, rising disposable incomes, and growing awareness of insurance benefits in emerging economies such as China and India. Furthermore, digitalization and advancements in technology are making insurance products more accessible to the broader population in these regions.

Type Analysis

The income protection insurance market can be segmented by type into short-term and long-term income protection insurance. Short-term income protection insurance generally covers income loss for a period ranging from a few months to a couple of years. This type of insurance is typically sought by individuals who require temporary financial support during recovery from illness or injury. It is particularly popular

IntroductionAlthough child and adolescent health is the core of the global health agenda, the cause of death and its expected contribution to life expectancy (LE) among those aged 5–14 are under-researched across countries, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsDeath rates per 10 years age group including a 5–14-year-old group were calculated by the formula, which used the population and the number of deaths segmented by the cause of death and gender from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. LE and cause-eliminated LE in 10-year intervals were calculated by using life tables.ResultsIn 2019, the global mortality rate for children and adolescents aged 5–14 years was 0.522 (0.476–0.575) per 1,000, and its LF was 71.377 years. In different-income regions, considerable heterogeneity remains in the ranking of cause of death aged 5–14 years. The top three causes of death in low-income countries (LICs) are enteric infections [0.141 (0.098–0.201) per 1,000], other infectious diseases [0.103 (0.073–0.148) per 1,000], and neglected tropical diseases and malaria [0.102 (0.054–0.172) per 1,000]. Eliminating these mortality rates can increase the life expectancy of the 5–14 age group by 0.085, 0.062, and 0.061 years, respectively. The top three causes of death in upper-middle income countries (upper MICs) are unintentional injuries [0.066 (0.061–0.072) per 1,000], neoplasm [0.046 (0.041–0.050) per 1,000], and transport injuries [0.045 (0.041–0.049) per 1,000]. Eliminating these mortality rates can increase the life expectancy of the 5–14 age group by 0.045, 0.031, and 0.030 years, respectively.ConclusionThe mortality rate for children and adolescents aged 5–14 years among LMICs remains high. Considerable heterogeneity was observed in the main causes of death among regions. According to the main causes of death at 5–14 years old in different regions and countries at different economic levels, governments should put their priority in tailoring their own strategies to decrease preventable mortality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about massive declines in well-being around the world. This paper seeks to quantify and compare two important components of those losses—increased mortality and higher poverty—using years of human life as a common metric. The paper estimates that almost 20 million life-years were lost to COVID-19 by December 2020. Over the same period and by the most conservative definition, more than 120 million additional years were spent in poverty because of the pandemic. The mortality burden, whether estimated in lives or years of life lost, increases sharply with gross domestic product per capita. By contrast, the poverty burden declines with per capita national income when a constant absolute poverty line is used, or is uncorrelated with national income when a more relative approach is taken to poverty lines. In both cases, the poverty burden of the pandemic, relative to the mortality burden, is much higher for poor countries. The distribution of aggregate welfare losses—combining mortality and poverty and expressed in terms of life-years —depends on the choice of poverty line(s) and the relative weights placed on mortality and poverty. With a constant absolute poverty line and a relatively low welfare weight on mortality, poorer countries are found to bear a greater welfare loss from the pandemic. When poverty lines are set differently for poor, middle-income, and high-income countries and/or a greater welfare weight is placed on mortality, upper-middle-income and rich countries suffer the most.

Background: In 2019, 80% of the 7.4 million global child deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Global and regional estimates of cause of hospital death and admission in LMIC children are needed to guide global and local priority setting and resource allocation but are currently lacking. The study objective was to estimate global and regional prevalence for common causes of pediatric hospital mortality and admission in LMICs. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify LMIC observational studies published January 1, 2005-February 26, 2021. Eligible studies included: a general pediatric admission population, a cause of admission or death, and total admissions. We excluded studies with data before 2000 or without a full text. Two authors independently screened and extracted data. We performed methodological assessment using domains adapted from the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. Data were pooled using random-effects models where possible. We reported prevalence as a proportion of cause of death or admission per 1000 admissions with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Findings: ur search identified 29,637 texts. After duplicate removal and screening, we analyzed 253 studies representing 21.8 million pediatric hospitalizations in 59 LMICs. All-cause pediatric hospital mortality was 4.1% [95%CI 3.4-4.7%]. The most common causes of mortality (deaths/1000 admissions) were infectious (12 [95%CI 9-14]); respiratory (9 [95%CI 5-13]); and gastrointestinal (9 [95%CI 6-11]). Common causes of admission (cases/1000 admissions) were respiratory (255 [95%CI 231-280]); infectious (214 [95%CI193-234]); and gastrointestinal (166 [95%CI 143-190]). We observed regional variation in estimates. Pediatric hospital mortality remains high in LMICs. Implications: Global child health efforts must include measures to reduce hospital mortality including basic emergency and critical care services tailored to the local disease burden. Resources are urgently needed to promote equity in child health research, support researchers, and collect high-quality data in LMICs to further guide priority setting and resource allocation. NOTE for restricted files: If you are not yet a CoLab member, please complete our membership application survey to gain access to restricted files within 2 business days. Some files may remain restricted to CoLab members. These files are deemed more sensitive by the file owner and are meant to be shared on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the CoLab coordinator at sepsiscolab@bcchr.ca or visit our website.

Minimum to maximum probability of death (45q15) on different levels of assignment of deaths with missing ethnicity: from assignment based on population proportion (0% re-assignment), to 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% death re-assignment.

IntroductionOur study explores how New York City (NYC) communities of various socioeconomic strata were uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsNew York City ZIP codes were stratified into three bins by median income: high-income, middle-income, and low-income. Case, hospitalization, and death rates obtained from NYCHealth were compared for the period between March 2020 and April 2022.ResultsCOVID-19 transmission rates among high-income populations during off-peak waves were higher than transmission rates among low-income populations. Hospitalization rates among low-income populations were higher during off-peak waves despite a lower transmission rate. Death rates during both off-peak and peak waves were higher for low-income ZIP codes.DiscussionThis study presents evidence that while high-income areas had higher transmission rates during off-peak periods, low-income areas suffered greater adverse outcomes in terms of hospitalization and death rates. The importance of this study is that it focuses on the social inequalities that were amplified by the pandemic.

This statistic presents the death rates for the five leading causes of deaths among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in each WHO region in 2015 (per 100,000 population). In low- and middle-income countries in Africa the leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 19 years was lower respiratory infections with a death rate of **** per 100,000 population. In high income WHO countries road injury was the leading cause of death among adolescents with a rate of ***. Road injury was the only cause to be in the five leading causes of death among adolescents in every WHO region.

The global death care merchandise and services market is a substantial industry, reaching an estimated market size of $190,720 million in 2025. While the exact CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) isn't provided, considering typical growth in this sector driven by an aging global population and evolving funeral practices, a conservative estimate of the CAGR for the forecast period (2025-2033) would be around 3-5%. This translates to significant market expansion over the next decade. Key drivers include the rising elderly population globally, increasing disposable incomes in developing nations leading to higher spending on funeral services, and a shift towards personalized and elaborate funeral arrangements. Emerging trends indicate a growing preference for cremation over traditional burial, the rise of green burial options, and the increasing adoption of pre-need funeral planning services. However, market restraints include economic downturns impacting discretionary spending, regulatory changes in specific regions, and the potential for increased competition from smaller, independent providers. The market is segmented by type (funeral homes, cemeteries, others) and application (at-need, pre-need services), with funeral homes and at-need services currently dominating the market share. Major players, such as Service Corporation International, Batesville, and others, are actively involved in consolidation and expansion to capitalize on market growth opportunities. The regional breakdown shows significant market presence in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, particularly in countries with large and aging populations like the United States, China, and Japan. However, growth opportunities exist in developing economies with rising middle classes and increasing awareness of funeral planning. The forecast period (2025-2033) presents substantial growth potential, primarily driven by demographic changes and evolving consumer preferences. Companies in this industry are likely to focus on innovative service offerings, technological advancements, and strategic acquisitions to enhance their market positions and cater to the changing demands of the consumer base. A focus on personalization, affordability, and ethical practices will likely be crucial for success in this evolving landscape.

Simple and adjusted cox proportional hazard models assessing self-rated health status and illiteracy as predictors of death from all causes, non-CVD deaths and CVD deaths.

This dataset results from an anthropological project investigating how will-making and the formal processes of inheritance shape the passing on of property and the making of socio-economic class in Johannesburg, South Africa. While the number of people making wills is rising, and will-making is a key focus of attempts to shape citizens as legally aware individual decision-makers, most people die intestate. Appeals to state processes have popular appeal as ways to seek official protection, despite popular awareness of limited state capacity. Family dynamics are often better enforced than the law. In post-apartheid South Africa, ending segregation meant including everyone in the same legal code, but this often enshrined the norms of the white elite. Intestate succession is seen as profound injustice because it prioritises nuclear family over kin group, and asset over patrimony, even as custom norms are often used to justify male control and marginalise widows. This is made more complicated by patchy regulation and enforcement. People’s unequal abilities to navigate the system, and even manipulate it, become central determinants of who benefits and whose version of kinship is counted. I conducted extensive ethnographic research within this system, shadowing officials and other expert practitioners; sitting in on legal advice consultations; attending court hearings; interviewing state and civil-society employees, as well people encountering the system as members of the public. This was complemented by archival research to enable the analysis of information in deceased estates files across time. The dataset consists of 1) anonymized example case studies from key Johannesburg Institutions – the Master’s Office (where deceased estates are processed), the High Court, the Magistrate’s Court, legal clinics – and from interviews with practitioners and members of the public; 2) an Excel database aggregating information about inheritance from around 500 deceased estates files over Johannesburg's history, along with an illustrative example of a deceased estates file and a document showing and explaining features of the original MS Access database.

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa's black middle class has grown exponentially, as a new stratum of black citizens has moved into government and corporate employment. As more South Africans accumulate substantial property, its disbursement becomes a new terrain on which battles of kinship obligation are fought. This project approaches class reproduction through an ethnographic focus on wills and testaments: the processes through which they are made, and the disputes surrounding their execution. The result is an innovative lens that attends to the role of experts and bureaucrats in shaping the dynamics of class. It extends my interest in class reproduction, explored in my forthcoming book (CUP 2015) based on fieldwork in South Africa since 2006. In South Africa, as the post-apartheid black middle class ages and considers family futures, the project is especially timely. The project addresses key anthropological concerns. It combines political-economic (inequality) and cultural (lifestyle) perspectives on the middle class, and these with scholarship on state institutions. And it extends existing work on class and status reproduction by transcending generations. How do black middle-class South Africans pass on the property that shapes their kin's status and life chances? As will-making is promoted ever more widely, how do institutions that facilitate it inflect experiences of kinship and property before death forces the issue? How does this compare with the established white middle class? Within families, how are competing definitions of ownership, rights and entitlements judged? When expressions of future plans also become expressions of state regulation, how does this affect access to family property (e.g. township houses)? Who is included and excluded, in the bottleneck of bureaucracy and legal process? How and why are particular possessions valued? How are people's roles and entitlements constituted in the process? Amidst increasing inequality and precarity, how is will-making talked about? How have concerns about property and inheritance been reflected in the media? Given the South African black middle class's diverse history, how does will-making today compare with the past? Examining class reproduction over time means combining ethnographic and historical methods. For the former, I will begin with long-term observation in the Johannesburg High Court where disputes around wills are heard, and trace cases out from the formal probate process to fieldwork with individuals and families. Meanwhile, I will work with will consultants and lawyers, and interview judges, members of financial organisations, and the experts responsible for designing their online will templates. The former Dean of Law at Wits University (where I am a Research Associate) has expressed...

Background # Seasonal influenza virus is a common cause of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in young children. In 2008, we estimated that 20 million influenza-virus-associated ALRI and 1 million influenza-virus-associated severe ALRI occurred in children under 5 years globally. Despite this substantial burden, only a few low-income and middle-income countries have adopted routine influenza vaccination policies for children and, where present, these have achieved only low or unknown levels of vaccine uptake. Moreover, the influenza burden might have changed due to the emergence and circulation of influenza A/H1N1pdm09. We aimed to incorporate new data to update estimates of the global number of cases, hospital admissions, and mortality from influenza-virus-associated respiratory infections in children under 5 years in 2018. # Methods # We estimated the regional and global burden of influenza-associated respiratory infections in children under 5 years from a systematic review of 100 studies published between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2018, and a further 57 high-quality unpublished studies. We adapted the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to assess the risk of bias. We estimated incidence and hospitalisation rates of influenza-virus-associated respiratory infections by severity, case ascertainment, region, and age. We estimated in-hospital deaths from influenza virus ALRI by combining hospital admissions and in-hospital case-fatality ratios of influenza virus ALRI. We estimated the upper bound of influenza virus-associated ALRI deaths based on the number of in-hospital deaths, US paediatric influenza-associated death data, and population-based childhood all-cause pneumonia mortality data in six sites in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. # Findings # In 2018, among children under 5 years globally, there were an estimated 109*5 million influenza virus episodes (uncertainty range [UR] 63*1-190*6), 10*1 million influenza-virus-associated ALRI cases (6*8-15*1); 870 000 influenza-virus-associated ALRI hospital admissions (543 000-1 415 000), 15 300 in-hospital deaths (5800-43 800), and up to 34 800 (13 200-97 200) overall influenza-virus-associated ALRI deaths. Influenza virus accounted for 7% of ALRI cases, 5% of ALRI hospital admissions, and 4% of ALRI deaths in children under 5 years. About 23% of the hospital admissions and 36% of the in-hospital deaths were in infants under 6 months. About 82% of the in-hospital deaths occurred in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. # Interpretation # A large proportion of the influenza-associated burden occurs among young infants and in low-income and lower middle-income countries. Our findings provide new and important evidence for maternal and paediatric influenza immunisation, and should inform future immunisation policy particularly in low-income and middle-income countries.

The fertility rate in a country decreases with an increasing income level. For instance, the least developed and low-income countries had the highest fertility rates between 2000 and 2022, with respectively 3.95 and 4.55 children per woman as of 2022. On the other hand, high-income and upper-middle-income countries had fertility rates of 1.5 and 1.59, respectively. Furthermore, fertility rates fell in all the countries worldwide, regardless of income level.

In 2021, high-income countries saw the highest number of deaths from drug use disorder, reaching over **** thousand deaths. This was followed by Upper-middle-income countries, where nearly **** thousand deaths from drug use disorder were reported in the same year.

BackgroundReducing neonatal and child mortality is a key component of the health-related sustainable development goal (SDG), but most low and middle income countries lack data to monitor child mortality on an annual basis. We tested a mortality monitoring system based on the continuous recording of pregnancies, births and deaths by trained community-based volunteers (CBV).Methods and findingsThis project was implemented in 96 clusters located in three districts of the Northern Region of Ghana. Community-based volunteers (CBVs) were selected from these clusters and were trained in recording all pregnancies, births, and deaths among children under 5 in their catchment areas. Data collection lasted from January 2012 through September 2013. All CBVs transmitted tallies of recorded births and deaths to the Ghana Birth and deaths registry each month, except in one of the study districts (approximately 80% reporting). Some events were reported only several months after they had occurred. We assessed the completeness and accuracy of CBV data by comparing them to retrospective full pregnancy histories (FPH) collected during a census of the same clusters conducted in October-December 2013. We conducted all analyses separately by district, as well as for the combined sample of all districts. During the 21-month implementation period, the CBVs reported a total of 2,819 births and 137 under-five deaths. Among the latter, there were 84 infant deaths (55 neonatal deaths and 29 post-neonatal deaths). Comparison of the CBV data with FPH data suggested that CBVs significantly under-estimated child mortality: the estimated under-5 mortality rate according to CBV data was only 2/3 of the rate estimated from FPH data (95% Confidence Interval for the ratio of the two rates = 51.7 to 81.4). The discrepancies between the CBV and FPH estimates of infant and neonatal mortality were more limited, but varied significantly across districts.ConclusionsIn northern Ghana, a community-based data collection systems relying on volunteers did not yield accurate estimates of child mortality rates. Additional implementation research is needed to improve the timeliness, completeness and accuracy of such systems. Enhancing pregnancy monitoring, in particular, may be an essential step to improve the measurement of neonatal mortality.

BackgroundAccording to the most recent estimates, 842,000 deaths in low- to middle-income countries were attributable to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in 2012. Despite billions of dollars and decades of effort, we still lack a sound understanding of which kinds of WASH interventions are most effective in improving public health outcomes, and an important corollary–whether the right things are being measured. The World Health Organization (WHO) has made a concerted effort to compile comprehensive data on drinking water quality and sanitation in the developing world. A recent 2014 report provides information on three phenotypes (responses): Unsafe Water Deaths, Unsafe Sanitation Deaths, Unsafe Hygiene Deaths; two grouped phenotypes: Unsafe Water and Sanitation Deaths and Unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Deaths; and six explanatory variables (predictors): Improved Sanitation, Unimproved Water Source, Piped Water To Premises, Other Improved Water Source, Filtered and Bottled Water in the Household and Handwashing.Methods and FindingsRegression analyses were performed to identify statistically significant associations between these mortality responses and predictors. Good fitted-model performance required: (1) the use of population-normalized death fractions as opposed to number of deaths; (2) transformed response (logit or power); and (3) square-root predictor transformation. Given the complexity and heterogeneity of the relationships and countries being studied, these models exhibited remarkable performance and explained, for example, about 85% of the observed variance in population-normalized Unsafe Sanitation Death fraction, with a high F-statistic and highly statistically significant predictor p-values. Similar performance was found for all other responses, which was an unexpected result (the expected associations between responses and predictors–i.e., water-related with water-related, etc. did not occur). The set of statistically significant predictors remains the same across all responses. That is, Unsafe Water Source (UWS), Improved Sanitation (IS) and Filtered and Bottled Water in the Household (FBH) were the only statistically significant predictors whether the response was Unsafe Sanitation Death Fraction, Unsafe Hygiene Death Fraction or Unsafe Water Death Fraction. Moreover, the fraction of variance explained for all fitted models remained relatively high (adjusted R2 ranges from 0.7605 to 0.8533). We find that two of the statistically significant predictors–Improved Sanitation and Unimproved Water Sources–are particularly influential. We also find that some predictors (Piped Water to Premises, Other Improved Water Sources) have very little explanatory power for predicting mortality and one (Other Improved Water Sources) has a counterintuitive effect on response (Unsafe Sanitary Death Fraction increases with increases in OIWS) and one predictor (Hand Washing) to have essentially no explanatory usefulness.ConclusionsOur results suggest that a higher priority may need to be given to improved sanitation than has been the case. Nevertheless, while our focus in this paper is mortality, morbidity is a staggering consequence of inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene, and lower impact on mortality may not mean a similarly low impact on morbidity. More specifically, those predictors that we found uninfluential for predicting mortality-related responses may indeed be important when morbidity is the response.

The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide include the Chad, Lesotho, and Nigeria. As of 2022, people born in Chad could be expected to live only up to 53 years. This is almost 20 years shorter than the global life expectancy. Life expectancy The global life expectancy has gradually increased over the past couple decades, rising from 70.53 years in 2011 to 72.79 years in 2019. However, the years 2020 and 2021 saw a decrease in global life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, life expectancy can vary greatly depending on the country and region. For example, all the top 20 countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide are in Africa. The countries with the highest life expectancy include Liechtenstein, Japan, and Switzerland. Causes of death The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide are all low-income or developing countries that lack health care access and treatment that more developed countries can provide. The leading causes of death in these countries therefore differ from those of middle-income and upper-income countries. The leading causes of death in low-income countries include diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, as well as preterm birth complications, which do not cause substantial death in higher income countries.

Baseline cohort characteristics according to cause of death in 2015 (n = 148).