While we’ve added nearly a decade to the average human lifespan this century, the fragile state of global health is a story of staggering triumphs overshadowed by profound and persistent inequalities.
Key Takeaways
- In 2019, global life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years, a 5.4-year increase from 67.9 years in 2000, driven by reductions in child mortality and communicable diseases
- The global under-5 mortality rate dropped from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 38 per 1,000 in 2019, averting 22 million deaths among children under 5
- In 2021, COVID-19 caused 5.4 million excess deaths globally, reversing two decades of progress in life expectancy gains
- In 2022, HIV caused 630,000 deaths globally, down 69% from peak in 2004
- Tuberculosis killed 1.3 million people in 2022, including 161,000 with HIV, with 10.6 million new cases
- Malaria caused 608,000 deaths in 2022, 76% children under 5, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa
- Global cardiovascular disease deaths reached 19.8 million in 2022, 32% of all global deaths
- Diabetes caused 1.6 million direct deaths in 2021, plus 480,000 from kidney disease linked to diabetes
- In 2022, 2.7 billion adults were overweight or obese, projected to rise to 4 billion by 2035
- Global maternal mortality ratio was 223 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020
- 287,000 women died from pregnancy-related causes in 2020, 70% in sub-Saharan Africa
- Only 65% of women receive at least 4 antenatal care visits globally in 2022
- Global UHC service coverage index reached 68 in 2021, up from 45 in 2000
- 4.5 billion people lack full access to essential health services
- Health worker density is 65 per 10,000 globally, but <20 in 78 countries
Global health progress was significant but uneven and threatened by pandemics like COVID-19.
Health Systems and Access
- Global UHC service coverage index reached 68 in 2021, up from 45 in 2000
- 4.5 billion people lack full access to essential health services
- Health worker density is 65 per 10,000 globally, but <20 in 78 countries
- Out-of-pocket health spending averages 18% of current health expenditure globally
- 2 billion people lack access to safe medicines, risking antimicrobial resistance
- Global health spending reached 9.8% of GDP in 2021, but unevenly distributed
- 90% of countries report disruptions to essential health services during COVID-19
- Only 42% of health facilities in low-income countries have basic emergency care
- Digital health interventions cover 52% of countries' essential services in 2022
- Global shortage of 10 million health workers projected by 2030, mostly in Africa
- 800 million people pushed into extreme poverty yearly by health spending
- Surgical volume is 4,139 operations per 100,000 yearly globally, but <1,000 in poorest countries
- 50% of people in low-income countries have less than 1 year of secondary education among health workers
- Telemedicine consultations increased 38-fold during pandemic in some regions
- Global financing for primary health care is USD 146 per capita, insufficient
- 47% of countries have national health insurance schemes covering >50% population
- Laboratory services available in 55% of peripheral health facilities in low-income countries
- 1.8 billion people use unsafe sanitation, impacting health access
- Electronic health records implemented in 58% of countries partially
- Community health workers number 3.4 million globally, bridging gaps
- Health system resilience score averaged 0.58/1 in 2021 across 195 countries
- 75% of low-income countries spend <5% GDP on health
- Vaccine supply chain issues left 20% facilities without power for cold chain in Africa
- Mental health services gap: 71% in low-income countries lack treatment access
- Global cataract surgical backlog: 65 million un-operated cases
Health Systems and Access Interpretation
We've cobbled together a patchwork of progress where, despite some gleaming stitches of improvement, the fabric of global health remains dangerously threadbare and stretched thin over immense, unconscionable holes.
Infectious Diseases
- In 2022, HIV caused 630,000 deaths globally, down 69% from peak in 2004
- Tuberculosis killed 1.3 million people in 2022, including 161,000 with HIV, with 10.6 million new cases
- Malaria caused 608,000 deaths in 2022, 76% children under 5, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa
- In 2022, 1.3 million new hepatitis B infections occurred globally, leading to 1.1 million deaths from viral hepatitis
- Hepatitis C caused 290,000 deaths in 2019, with 58 million living with chronic infection
- Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect over 1 billion people, causing 142,100 deaths in 2021
- In 2023, mpox reported 145 deaths across 23 countries, mostly in Africa with clade Ib
- Global cholera cases reached 533,000 in 2022, with 4,492 deaths, a 77% increase from prior years
- Measles killed 136,000 people in 2022, mostly children under 5, due to declining vaccination
- In 2022, 14.6 million people were newly infected with syphilis, with 661,000 adverse birth outcomes
- Polio cases dropped to 12 wild poliovirus type 1 cases in 2023 from thousands pre-vaccination
- Dengue affected 6.5 million people in the Americas in 2023, with 967 deaths
- Leishmaniasis caused 26,000 to 65,000 deaths annually, with 700,000-1 million new cases
- Rabies kills 59,000 people yearly, 40% children under 15, 99% via dog bites
- Global influenza causes 290,000-650,000 respiratory deaths annually
- In 2022, 8.8 million TB cases went undiagnosed, contributing to ongoing transmission
- HIV prevalence among adults 15-49 was 0.7% in 2023, with 39.9 million living with HIV
- Malaria parasite prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa under-5s was 11.3% in 2022
- 257 million people needed treatment for NTDs in 2022
- Global gonorrhoea incidence was 82.4 million new cases among 15-49 year-olds in 2020
- Chlamydia caused 128.5 million new infections in 2020 globally
- 37.4 million new trichomoniasis cases in 2020 among adults 15-49
- Yellow fever reported 216,000 cases and 38,430 deaths in Africa in 2022
- Nipah virus has case fatality rate of 40-75%, with sporadic outbreaks killing dozens
Infectious Diseases Interpretation
These global health statistics reveal a landscape of both remarkable victories—like the dramatic drop in HIV deaths—and stubborn, often preventable, tragedies, where the pathogens winning are the ones we've chosen to neglect.
Maternal and Child Health
- Global maternal mortality ratio was 223 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020
- 287,000 women died from pregnancy-related causes in 2020, 70% in sub-Saharan Africa
- Only 65% of women receive at least 4 antenatal care visits globally in 2022
- 29 million women gave birth without skilled attendant in 2020, risking complications
- Neonatal deaths total 2.3 million yearly, 47% of under-5 deaths
- Globally, 93% of children receive first DTP vaccine dose, but only 84% third dose in 2022
- 45% of under-5 deaths occur in first month of life, mostly preventable
- Adolescent birth rate in least developed countries was 99 per 1,000 girls 15-19 in 2023
- 2.4 billion women of reproductive age lack access to modern contraception
- Preterm birth complications cause 1 million neonatal deaths yearly, 75% in South Asia/Africa
- Globally, 38% of newborns receive immediate skin-to-skin contact post-birth in 2022
- 80% of maternal deaths preventable with quality care, yet 800 women die daily
- Under-5 stunting affects 148.1 million children in 2022, 35.5 million wasted
- Breastfeeding within first hour saves 7% of under-5 deaths, but only 48% newborns breastfed timely
- Globally, 14 million adolescents give birth yearly, highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa
- Haemorrhage causes 27% of maternal deaths, sepsis 11%, hypertension 14% globally
- 1 in 71 newborns die in first week in high-mortality countries vs 1 in 1000 low-mortality
- Contraceptive prevalence among married women 15-49 is 65% globally, but 23% unmet need
- 4.3 million newborns need treatment for small/vulnerable newborns yearly
- Child marriage leads to 12 million girl brides yearly, increasing maternal risks
- Globally, 2.3 billion people lack safely managed drinking water, affecting child health
- Pneumonia kills 672,000 under-5s yearly, vaccine-preventable
- Diarrhoea causes 444,000 under-5 deaths yearly, mostly from unsafe water
Maternal and Child Health Interpretation
Despite impressive global progress in some areas, the persistent and preventable deaths of mothers and newborns reveal a sobering truth: we have built a satellite to map every inch of the earth, yet we cannot reliably get a midwife, a clean cloth, or a dose of antibiotics to the women and children who need them most.
Mortality and Life Expectancy
- In 2019, global life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years, a 5.4-year increase from 67.9 years in 2000, driven by reductions in child mortality and communicable diseases
- The global under-5 mortality rate dropped from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 38 per 1,000 in 2019, averting 22 million deaths among children under 5
- In 2021, COVID-19 caused 5.4 million excess deaths globally, reversing two decades of progress in life expectancy gains
- Global healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth was 63.7 years in 2019, meaning people live 9.6 years in poor health on average
- Between 2000 and 2019, the global maternal mortality ratio declined by 38%, from 339 to 211 deaths per 100,000 live births
- In low-income countries, life expectancy at birth averaged 64.7 years in 2019, compared to 80.7 years in high-income countries
- Global adult mortality rate for ages 30-70 from NCDs fell by 15% between 2010 and 2021, from 22.6% to 19.2%
- In 2020, an estimated 1.8 billion adults worldwide were overweight, contributing to 4.7 million premature deaths annually
- The probability of dying between ages 30 and 70 from the four main NCDs was 19% globally in 2019 for males and 13% for females
- Global neonatal mortality rate decreased from 30 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 17 in 2020
- In 2019, 54 countries had life expectancy below the global average of 73.3 years, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa
- Excess mortality from COVID-19 was highest in the Americas at 7.5%, compared to global average of 4.7% in 2021
- Global stillbirth rate stood at 13.9 per 1,000 total births in 2021, unchanged from 2000 levels in many regions
- In 2022, 4.0 million babies died in the first month of life, with 75% in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
- Global age-standardized mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases was 181.9 per 100,000 in 2019
- Between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years due to COVID-19
- In 2019, 15 million girls aged 15-19 became mothers in developing regions, contributing to higher mortality risks
- Global road traffic death rate was 15.6 per 100,000 population in 2021, killing 1.19 million people annually
- Suicide accounted for 1.18% of all deaths globally in 2019, with rates highest in low- and middle-income countries
- In 2020, 8.2 million deaths were attributed to air pollution globally
- Global infant mortality rate fell to 27.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 from 55.3 in 2000
- In high-income countries, HALE reached 71.3 years in 2019, versus 57.8 in low-income countries
- Global mortality rate from tuberculosis was 11.5 per 100,000 population in 2022, down 9% from 2021
- In 2019, cancer caused 10 million deaths worldwide, 18% of all deaths
- Global dementia prevalence led to 1.17 million deaths in 2019, up 40% since 1990
- Drowning caused 236,000 deaths globally in 2019, highest among children under 5 at 37 per 100,000
- In 2021, 2.8 million deaths were due to alcohol use, 5% of all global deaths
- Global homicide rate was 6.1 per 100,000 in 2021, with 458,000 deaths
- Fire, heat, and hot substances caused 117,000 deaths in 2017, mostly in low-income settings
- Global poisoning death rate was 1.6 per 100,000 in 2019, higher in males at 2.2
Mortality and Life Expectancy Interpretation
We're winning the marathon of life with a notable two-decade sprint, yet COVID-19 tripped us near the finish line, revealing that while we've added years for many, the quality and equity of those years remain a staggering challenge.
Non-Communicable Diseases
- Global cardiovascular disease deaths reached 19.8 million in 2022, 32% of all global deaths
- Diabetes caused 1.6 million direct deaths in 2021, plus 480,000 from kidney disease linked to diabetes
- In 2022, 2.7 billion adults were overweight or obese, projected to rise to 4 billion by 2035
- Global cancer incidence hit 20 million new cases in 2022, with 9.7 million deaths
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) killed 3.23 million in 2019, 80% in low/middle-income countries
- 422 million adults have diabetes, mostly type 2, causing 47% of deaths in 15-49 age group
- Hypertension affects 1.28 billion adults 30-79, with 2/3 in low/middle-income countries
- Tobacco kills over 8 million people yearly, including 1.3 million non-smokers from exposure
- 38 million children under 5 were overweight or obese in 2022, risking NCDs later
- Global prevalence of raised blood glucose among adults 18+ was 14% in 2014
- Alzheimer's and other dementias caused 1.8 million deaths in 2019, up 144% since 2000
- Asthma affected 262 million people in 2019, causing 455,000 deaths
- Chronic kidney disease prevalence is 9.1%, with 3.13 million deaths in 2021
- 1 in 5 deaths from NCDs are premature, under age 70, totaling 15 million yearly
- Global obesity prevalence tripled since 1975, 16% of adults obese in 2022
- Liver cancer deaths reached 830,000 in 2020, 75% linked to hepatitis or alcohol
- Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1.3% globally, contributing to disability
- Parkinson's disease prevalence 0.5-1% over age 60, 2.5 million deaths indirectly
- Osteoarthritis affects 7.6% of population, leading to 367,000 deaths in 2020
- Global stroke deaths 6.55 million in 2019, 11.9% of total deaths
- Oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people, 95% in low/middle-income countries
- Sickle cell disease affects 300,000 births yearly, high mortality in Africa
Non-Communicable Diseases Interpretation
These chilling statistics reveal we're not so much living longer as we're slowly dying from preventable lifestyle choices, with our modern world having engineered a perfect storm of chronic disease that is now our leading cause of death.
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