USA VS NORTH KOREA: TOP 10 CAUSES OF DEATH

Click Country Link To Compare

	NORTH KOREA		UNITED STATES		Deaths
Cause Of Death	Rnk	Deaths	Rnk	Deaths	Summary
Stroke	1	645,574	4	158,520	+ 487,054
Coronary Heart Disease	2	407,541	1	504,904	- 97,363
Lung Disease	3	340,392	3	195,387	+ 145,005
Tuberculosis	4	226,476	62	546	+ 225,929
Lung Cancers	5	154,650	5	155,533	- 883
Influenza and Pneumonia	6	81,017	11	60,317	+ 20,699
Road Traffic Accidents	7	80,748	17	41,694	+ 39,054
Hypertension	8	69,800	8	65,960	+ 3,840
Liver Cancer	9	69,251	23	27,064	+ 42,187
Liver Disease	10	58,598	16	43,402	+ 15,195
Alzheimers & Dementia	11	56,430	2	287,198	- 230,768
Kidney Disease	12	51,475	6	85,861	- 34,385
Stomach Cancer	13	49,033	33	13,077	+ 35,957
Diabetes Mellitus	14	47,729	10	61,418	- 13,689
Colon-Rectum Cancers	15	42,022	9	61,827	- 19,806
Suicide	16	31,298	12	53,099	- 21,800
Rheumatic Heart Disease	17	27,210	47	3,646	+ 23,564
Falls	18	23,422	18	40,418	- 16,996
Peptic Ulcer Disease	19	22,264	48	3,461	+ 18,803
Other Injuries	20	19,909	25	25,997	- 6,088
Pancreas Cancer	21	19,836	15	44,293	- 24,457
Asthma	22	18,712	46	3,818	+ 14,894
Breast Cancer	23	17,761	13	48,671	- 30,909
Oesophagus Cancer	24	15,893	28	17,829	- 1,936
Low Birth Weight	25	15,710	39	6,924	+ 8,786
Parkinson's Disease	26	15,015	21	34,491	- 19,476
Drownings	27	14,641	45	4,070	+ 10,571
Violence	28	14,071	27	18,976	- 4,905
Congenital Anomalies	29	12,884	34	11,762	+ 1,123
Leukemia	30	12,548	24	26,966	- 14,418
HIV/AIDS	31	9,796	42	5,660	+ 4,135
Birth Trauma	32	9,568	54	1,233	+ 8,335
Cervical Cancer	33	9,157	38	6,984	+ 2,172
Inflammatory/Heart	34	8,897	22	32,529	- 23,633
Lymphomas	35	7,279	19	40,281	- 33,002
Ovary Cancer	36	6,914	31	14,591	- 7,677
Oral Cancer	37	6,665	35	11,555	- 4,890
Bladder Cancer	38	6,497	26	19,622	- 13,125
Endocrine Disorders	39	5,874	14	46,985	- 41,111
Diarrhoeal diseases	40	4,869	37	9,955	- 5,085
Poisonings	41	4,765	53	1,674	+ 3,090
Drug Use	42	4,635	7	74,435	- 69,799
Malnutrition	43	4,127	40	6,762	- 2,635
Alcohol	44	3,958	30	14,659	- 10,701
Epilepsy	45	3,456	50	3,162	+ 294
Fires	46	3,294	49	3,183	+ 111
Maternal Conditions	47	3,272	56	779	+ 2,494
Prostate Cancer	48	2,846	20	35,612	- 32,766
Meningitis	49	2,690	60	606	+ 2,084
Rheumatoid Arthritis	50	2,581	52	2,461	+ 120
Skin Cancers	51	2,188	32	14,311	- 12,123
Skin Disease	52	2,060	43	5,409	- 3,349
Uterin Cancer	53	1,796	36	10,063	- 8,267
Encephalitis	54	1,521	68	25	+ 1,496
Hepatitis B	55	891	59	608	+ 283
Upper Respiratory	56	867	65	229	+ 638
Appendicitis	57	737	63	424	+ 312
Syphilis	58	702	66	49	+ 653
Other Neoplasms	59	569	29	17,743	- 17,175
Multiple Sclerosis	60	515	44	5,059	- 4,544
Pertussis	61	446	69	16	+ 430
Tetanus	62	359	71	2	+ 357
War	63	212	55	1,198	- 986
Hepatitis C	64	136	41	5,684	- 5,548
Measles	65	48	80	0	+ 48
Chlamydia	66	19	84	0	+ 19
Ascariasis	67	11	82	0	+ 11
Diphtheria	68	5	75	0	+ 5
Malaria	69	4	77	0	+ 4
Otitis Media	70	4	67	34	- 30
Leprosy	71	0	74	0	- 0
Chagas disease	72	0	70	4	- 4
Trypanosomiasis	73	0	78	0	- 0
Schistosomiasis	74	0	72	1	- 1
Leishmaniasis	75	0	79	0	- 0
Dengue	76	0	76	0	- 0
Trichuriasis	77	0	83	0	- 0
Hookworm Disease	78	0	81	0	- 0
Iodine Deficiency	79	0	73	1	- 1
Prostatic Hypertrophy	80	0	58	678	- 678
Osteoarthritis	81	0	61	579	- 579
Oral conditions	82	0	64	286	- 286
Schizophrenia	83	0	57	723	- 723
Depression	84	0	86	0	- 0
Anemia	85	0	51	3,115	- 3,115
Vitamin A Deficiency	86	0	85	0	- 0
TOTAL DEATHS

Note: Population is Equalized to USA

North Korea

United States

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.