USA VS SOUTH AFRICA: TOP 10 CAUSES OF DEATH

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	SOUTH AFRICA		UNITED STATES		Deaths
Cause Of Death	Rnk	Deaths	Rnk	Deaths	Summary
HIV/AIDS	1	407,327	42	5,660	+ 401,666
Influenza and Pneumonia	2	222,577	11	60,317	+ 162,259
Coronary Heart Disease	3	185,225	1	504,904	- 319,679
Stroke	4	173,653	4	158,520	+ 15,133
Diabetes Mellitus	5	170,791	10	61,418	+ 109,372
Tuberculosis	6	124,273	62	546	+ 123,726
Violence	7	118,808	27	18,976	+ 99,832
Diarrhoeal diseases	8	89,635	37	9,955	+ 79,680
Kidney Disease	9	86,572	6	85,861	+ 712
Suicide	10	77,929	12	53,099	+ 24,830
Road Traffic Accidents	11	73,629	17	41,694	+ 31,935
Hypertension	12	72,354	8	65,960	+ 6,394
Lung Disease	13	67,296	3	195,387	- 128,091
Liver Disease	14	50,994	16	43,402	+ 7,592
Lung Cancers	15	43,594	5	155,533	- 111,939
Low Birth Weight	16	35,361	39	6,924	+ 28,437
Other Injuries	17	34,024	25	25,997	+ 8,026
Asthma	18	33,753	46	3,818	+ 29,935
Endocrine Disorders	19	33,324	14	46,985	- 13,661
Cervical Cancer	20	31,431	38	6,984	+ 24,446
Inflammatory/Heart	21	30,598	22	32,529	- 1,931
Alzheimers & Dementia	22	26,455	2	287,198	- 260,743
Breast Cancer	23	25,648	13	48,671	- 23,022
Prostate Cancer	24	24,745	20	35,612	- 10,867
Congenital Anomalies	25	24,614	34	11,762	+ 12,852
Meningitis	26	20,709	60	606	+ 20,103
Fires	27	20,467	49	3,183	+ 17,284
Colon-Rectum Cancers	28	20,292	9	61,827	- 41,535
Oesophagus Cancer	29	19,721	28	17,829	+ 1,891
Birth Trauma	30	16,993	54	1,233	+ 15,760
Lymphomas	31	15,942	19	40,281	- 24,339
Drownings	32	13,596	45	4,070	+ 9,527
Liver Cancer	33	13,484	23	27,064	- 13,580
Malnutrition	34	13,469	40	6,762	+ 6,707
Pancreas Cancer	35	11,355	15	44,293	- 32,937
Peptic Ulcer Disease	36	10,716	48	3,461	+ 7,255
Epilepsy	37	10,579	50	3,162	+ 7,416
Maternal Conditions	38	9,616	56	779	+ 8,837
Stomach Cancer	39	8,682	33	13,077	- 4,394
Leukemia	40	8,280	24	26,966	- 18,686
Oral Cancer	41	7,953	35	11,555	- 3,602
Falls	42	7,916	18	40,418	- 32,502
Pertussis	43	6,463	69	16	+ 6,447
Syphilis	44	6,391	66	49	+ 6,342
Skin Disease	45	6,232	43	5,409	+ 823
Parkinson's Disease	46	6,094	21	34,491	- 28,397
Rheumatic Heart Disease	47	5,741	47	3,646	+ 2,095
Skin Cancers	48	5,616	32	14,311	- 8,694
Alcohol	49	5,583	30	14,659	- 9,076
Poisonings	50	5,519	53	1,674	+ 3,845
Ovary Cancer	51	5,379	31	14,591	- 9,212
Bladder Cancer	52	4,691	26	19,622	- 14,931
Drug Use	53	4,355	7	74,435	- 70,079
Uterin Cancer	54	2,898	36	10,063	- 7,164
Rheumatoid Arthritis	55	2,126	52	2,461	- 335
Appendicitis	56	1,549	63	424	+ 1,125
Measles	57	1,530	80	0	+ 1,530
Other Neoplasms	58	1,509	29	17,743	- 16,234
Encephalitis	59	1,324	68	25	+ 1,299
Upper Respiratory	60	1,262	65	229	+ 1,032
Hepatitis B	61	789	59	608	+ 181
Multiple Sclerosis	62	639	44	5,059	- 4,420
Malaria	63	467	77	0	+ 467
War	64	371	55	1,198	- 827
Tetanus	65	214	71	2	+ 212
Schistosomiasis	66	198	72	1	+ 197
Otitis Media	67	108	67	34	+ 74
Chlamydia	68	103	84	0	+ 103
Diphtheria	69	92	75	0	+ 91
Hepatitis C	70	45	41	5,684	- 5,639
Ascariasis	71	16	82	0	+ 16
Hookworm Disease	72	0	81	0	- 0
Dengue	73	0	76	0	- 0
Trichuriasis	74	0	83	0	- 0
Leprosy	75	0	74	0	- 0
Trypanosomiasis	76	0	78	0	- 0
Leishmaniasis	77	0	79	0	- 0
Chagas disease	78	0	70	4	- 4
Iodine Deficiency	79	0	73	1	- 1
Schizophrenia	80	0	57	723	- 723
Vitamin A Deficiency	81	0	85	0	- 0
Anemia	82	0	51	3,115	- 3,115
Depression	83	0	86	0	- 0
Oral conditions	84	0	64	286	- 286
Osteoarthritis	85	0	61	579	- 579
Prostatic Hypertrophy	86	0	58	678	- 678
TOTAL DEATHS

Note: Population is Equalized to USA

South Africa

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.