SOUTH KOREA VS NORTH KOREA: TOP 10 CAUSES OF DEATH

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	NORTH KOREA		SOUTH KOREA		Deaths
Cause Of Death	Rnk	Deaths	Rnk	Deaths	Summary
Stroke	1	98,322	3	25,596	+ 72,726
Coronary Heart Disease	2	62,069	1	28,043	+ 34,027
Lung Disease	3	51,842	11	8,526	+ 43,316
Tuberculosis	4	34,493	24	1,950	+ 32,543
Lung Cancers	5	23,553	4	20,293	+ 3,260
Influenza and Pneumonia	6	12,339	2	26,650	- 14,311
Road Traffic Accidents	7	12,298	15	4,399	+ 7,899
Hypertension	8	10,631	17	3,711	+ 6,920
Liver Cancer	9	10,547	7	11,589	- 1,042
Liver Disease	10	8,925	14	6,348	+ 2,576
Alzheimers & Dementia	11	8,594	6	12,145	- 3,550
Kidney Disease	12	7,840	9	10,107	- 2,267
Stomach Cancer	13	7,468	10	8,625	- 1,157
Diabetes Mellitus	14	7,269	13	6,812	+ 457
Colon-Rectum Cancers	15	6,400	8	10,180	- 3,780
Suicide	16	4,767	5	14,636	- 9,869
Rheumatic Heart Disease	17	4,144	48	224	+ 3,920
Falls	18	3,567	20	2,934	+ 633
Peptic Ulcer Disease	19	3,391	38	540	+ 2,851
Other Injuries	20	3,032	18	3,634	- 602
Pancreas Cancer	21	3,021	12	6,994	- 3,973
Asthma	22	2,850	32	1,150	+ 1,699
Breast Cancer	23	2,705	21	2,880	- 175
Oesophagus Cancer	24	2,421	28	1,733	+ 688
Low Birth Weight	25	2,393	45	370	+ 2,022
Parkinson's Disease	26	2,287	16	3,951	- 1,664
Drownings	27	2,230	42	501	+ 1,729
Violence	28	2,143	44	386	+ 1,757
Congenital Anomalies	29	1,962	41	518	+ 1,444
Leukemia	30	1,911	23	2,140	- 229
HIV/AIDS	31	1,492	55	84	+ 1,408
Birth Trauma	32	1,457	54	88	+ 1,369
Cervical Cancer	33	1,395	34	1,065	+ 330
Inflammatory/Heart	34	1,355	31	1,325	+ 30
Lymphomas	35	1,109	19	3,477	- 2,369
Ovary Cancer	36	1,053	30	1,330	- 277
Oral Cancer	37	1,015	29	1,457	- 442
Bladder Cancer	38	990	27	1,768	- 779
Endocrine Disorders	39	895	25	1,891	- 996
Diarrhoeal diseases	40	742	35	929	- 187
Poisonings	41	726	52	115	+ 611
Drug Use	42	706	50	154	+ 552
Malnutrition	43	629	53	88	+ 540
Alcohol	44	603	33	1,081	- 478
Epilepsy	45	526	40	524	+ 2
Fires	46	502	47	263	+ 238
Maternal Conditions	47	498	61	34	+ 464
Prostate Cancer	48	433	22	2,316	- 1,882
Meningitis	49	410	58	51	+ 359
Rheumatoid Arthritis	50	393	51	150	+ 243
Skin Cancers	51	333	37	585	- 251
Skin Disease	52	314	36	704	- 391
Uterin Cancer	53	273	43	420	- 146
Encephalitis	54	232	65	19	+ 213
Hepatitis B	55	136	39	526	- 390
Upper Respiratory	56	132	63	26	+ 106
Appendicitis	57	112	57	54	+ 58
Syphilis	58	107	62	27	+ 80
Other Neoplasms	59	87	26	1,807	- 1,720
Multiple Sclerosis	60	78	66	11	+ 68
Pertussis	61	68	67	6	+ 62
Tetanus	62	55	69	5	+ 50
War	63	32	68	5	+ 27
Hepatitis C	64	21	49	168	- 147
Measles	65	7	83	0	+ 7
Chlamydia	66	3	84	0	+ 3
Ascariasis	67	2	74	0	+ 2
Diphtheria	68	1	73	0	+ 1
Malaria	69	1	71	1	- 1
Otitis Media	70	1	70	5	- 4
Leprosy	71	0	82	0	- 0
Chagas disease	72	0	80	0	- 0
Trypanosomiasis	73	0	78	0	- 0
Schistosomiasis	74	0	72	1	- 1
Leishmaniasis	75	0	79	0	- 0
Dengue	76	0	77	0	- 0
Trichuriasis	77	0	75	0	- 0
Hookworm Disease	78	0	76	0	- 0
Iodine Deficiency	79	0	81	0	- 0
Prostatic Hypertrophy	80	0	59	49	- 49
Osteoarthritis	81	0	60	41	- 41
Oral conditions	82	0	64	21	- 21
Schizophrenia	83	0	56	77	- 77
Depression	84	0	86	0	- 0
Anemia	85	0	46	329	- 329
Vitamin A Deficiency	86	0	85	0	- 0
TOTAL DEATHS

Note: Population is Equalized to SOUTH KOREA

North Korea

South Korea

THE INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE

The point of this intellectual exercise is to measure what would happen if two countries shared the same leading causes of death. To make these comparisons possible we equalized the population and used total deaths for each country's top 10 causes to simulate an "Exchange." Use the chart on the left to sort by the country name and use the summary plus and minus column to measure the differences in total deaths.

Life Expectancy statistics are calculated the same way everywhere in the world, but what we die from can be very different depending upon where we live. Despite these differences, with rare exception, the top 10 causes of death for any given country will represent between 70-80% of their total deaths. This is an intellectual exercise only, not a comparison of which country is healthier or to challenge existing life expectancy rankings. If you prefer to see total deaths for over 80 causes and choose your own countries to compare go here: https://www.globallifeexpectancy.com/world-rankings-total-deaths

ABOUT OUR DATA

All meaningful comparisons between countries should be made using the same data source and year. The most reliable source for International comparisons is the World Health Organization because it is standardized for cross cultural comparisons. It is also reviewed annually, which often makes it more current than individual country data that can take years to compile. The WHO data includes individual country "projections," that are calculated based upon an annual consultation with each country before it is published. There are differences however, such as WHO data separates different forms of heart disease and cancer and combines Alzheimer's with Dementia. In this top 10 comparison WHO data for both countries was used.