COVID-19 dropped out of the world’s 10 leading causes of death in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic began, killing an estimated 0.9 million people and ranking 14th globally, Health Policy Watch reported. The World Health Organization released these new estimates on Friday, showing that global life expectancy has climbed back to near pre-pandemic levels just two years after the virus topped the mortality list.
Global Life Expectancy Recovers to 73.3 Years
Global life expectancy at birth recovered to 73.3 years in 2023, nearly matching the 73.4 years recorded in 2019 before the coronavirus struck, according to World Health Organization figures published by Health Policy Watch. Figures published in 2024 showed the pandemic had initially cut global life expectancy by 1.8 years down to 71.4 years between 2019 and 2021. Healthy life expectancy also rose to 62.8 years in 2023, though it remains 0.4 years below its 2019 baseline.
“Living longer is one of the great achievements of public health,” said Dr. Alain Labrique, director of the WHO’s Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and AI, as cited by Health Policy Watch. “The next challenge is to ensure that those additional years are lived in good health, while health systems are equipped to respond to the changing needs of populations.”
Revised Estimates Push 2021 Toll to 9.4 Million Deaths
Revised World Health Organization figures now rank COVID-19 as the world’s single leading cause of death in 2021, accounting for 9.4 million direct deaths. Earlier estimates from the agency had previously placed the virus in second place for that year. Combined with 5.3 million direct deaths in 2020, the updated figures establish a direct pandemic toll of 14.7 million fatalities across its first two years.
The World Health Organization declared an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency in May 2023. By that year, the virus’s direct annual toll fell sharply to 0.9 million deaths as population immunity and clinical management improved worldwide.
Chronic Conditions Account for 74 Percent of Global Mortality
Noncommunicable diseases caused 74 percent of all deaths worldwide in 2023, up significantly from 58 percent in the year 2000. Eight of the ten leading global causes of death in 2023 were chronic conditions, led by ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Ischaemic heart disease remained the world’s top killer, claiming about 9.5 million lives in 2023—or 16 percent of the 61 million total deaths worldwide. Stroke caused 6.8 million deaths, while chronic obstructive pulmonary disease killed 3.6 million. Meanwhile, lower respiratory infections ranked fourth with 2.7 million deaths, returning to their 2019 level to become the deadliest communicable disease once again.
Alzheimer Disease Deaths Triple Since 2000
Alzheimer disease and other dementias emerged as the fifth leading cause of death in 2023, killing 2.1 million people globally. These conditions ranked 19th in 2000, and overall fatalities from dementia have tripled over the period, with women accounting for 66 percent of those deaths.
Diabetes deaths more than doubled to 2.0 million people, and lung cancer deaths climbed from 1.1 million to 1.8 million. Kidney diseases jumped from 17th to ninth place, registering an 86 percent increase in deaths. In contrast, deaths from HIV and AIDS fell by 62 percent, pushing that disease down from seventh to 22nd place globally.
World Health Organization Publishes Comprehensive 2000 to 2023 Dataset
The World Health Organization published its complete Global Health Estimates 2023 on its official WHO mortality portal, providing cause-specific mortality metrics for the years 2000, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Because of methodological updates and newly incorporated data sources, the agency noted that these 2000–2023 estimates cannot be directly compared to previously released reports.