In 2013, the main causes of death in France was cancer. That year 163,602 French individuals died of cancer, regardless of gender. Diseases appear to be the leading causes of death in Europe and Western countries. Ischaemic heart diseases, as well as other circulatory system diseases kill millions of Europeans every year.

Diseases are the leading causes of death in France and worldwide

In 2018, there were more than 601,000 deaths in France. Most of them were caused by cancer and other diseases. Tumor is the leading cause of death among French men, while women seem more affected by heart diseases. In Europe in 2016, the cause of death with the greatest likelihood of death was cancer, which occurred in 265 people out of every 100,000 Europeans. Despite the development of medicine and technological progress, health issues like cancers keep being the main causes of death among the human population.

The increase of life expectancy

Even though tumors and other heart diseases are responsible for the majority of deaths in the world, it appears that medical advances in the last years and decades have a real impact on mortality rate worldwide. Between 2007 and 2017 alone, the global death rate went from 8.08 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants to 7.62. Similarly, the global child mortality rate has fallen steadily across the world since the sixties. These different factors had led to an increase of life expectancy. In 2016, the average life expectancy at birth worldwide reached 72 years, compared to 64 years in 1990.

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.

Chart and table of the World death rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

The leading causes of death in the United States have changed significantly from the year 1900 to the present. Leading causes of death in 1900, such as tuberculosis, gastrointestinal infections, and diphtheria have seen huge decreases in death rates and are no longer among the leading causes of death in the United States. However, other diseases such as heart disease and cancer have seen increased death rates. Vaccinations One major factor contributing to the decrease in death rates for many diseases since the year 1900 is the introduction of vaccinations. The decrease seen in the rates of death due to pneumonia and influenza is a prime example of this. In 1900, pneumonia and influenza were the leading causes of death, with around 202 deaths per 100,000 population. However, in 2023 pneumonia and influenza were not even among the ten leading causes of death. Cancer One disease that has seen a large increase in death rates since 1900 is cancer. Cancer currently accounts for almost 20 percent of all deaths in the United States, with death rates among men higher than those for women. The deadliest form of cancer for both men and women is cancer of the lung and bronchus. Some of the most common avoidable risk factors for cancer include smoking, drinking alcohol, sun exposure, and obesity.

The burden of influenza in the United States can vary from year to year depending on which viruses are circulating, how many people receive an influenza vaccination, and how effective the vaccination is in that particular year. During the 2019-2020 flu season, around 25,000 people lost their lives to the disease. Although most people recover from influenza without needing medical care, the disease can be deadly among young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses.

Deaths due to influenza Even though most people recover from influenza without medical care, influenza and pneumonia can be deadly, especially for older people and those with certain preexisting conditions. Influenza is a common cause of pneumonia and although most cases of influenza do not develop into pneumonia, those that do are often more severe and more deadly. Deaths due to influenza are most common among the elderly, with a mortality rate of around 7.4 per 100,000 population during the 2021-2022 flu season. In comparison, the mortality rate for those aged 50 to 64 years was just 1.2 per 100,000 population.

Flu vaccinations The most effective way to prevent influenza is to receive a yearly influenza vaccination. These vaccines have proven to be safe and are usually cheap and easily accessible. Nevertheless, every year a large share of the population in the United States still fails to get vaccinated against influenza. For example, in the 2021-2022 flu season only 37 percent of those aged 18 to 49 years received a flu vaccination. Unsurprisingly, children and the elderly are the most likely to get vaccinated. It is estimated that during the 2021-2022 flu season vaccinations prevented over 618 thousand influenza cases among children aged 6 months to 4 years.

There were 285 new cases of measles in the U.S. in 2024. Measles, also known as rubeola, is an infectious disease that is highly contagious and affects mostly children. Common symptoms of measles include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, and a rash. Although death rates from measles have decreased around the world, it is still responsible for around 81,000 deaths worldwide per year. Measles vaccination The main reason for the decrease in measles cases and deaths is due to high vaccination rates. The widely used MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella and is safe and effective. In 2023, around 91 percent of adolescents in the U.S. aged 13 to 17 years had received an MMR vaccination. However, in recent years there has been a rise in measles cases in many parts of the world due to vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy refers to a refusal or reluctance to have children vaccinated, despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective. This hesitancy comes from a misunderstanding of the ingredients in vaccines and how they work, a mistrust of doctors and pharmaceutical companies, and belief in the unfounded associations of vaccines with other diseases and disorders.