People around the world are living longer again, with global life expectancy almost fully recovered from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said. Following the disruption caused by the pandemic, global life expectancy has returned to close to pre-pandemic levels.
At the same time, noncommunicable diseases account for an increasing share of deaths, with conditions such as diabetes, dementia, mental health conditions, and drug use disorders contributing to a growing and changing burden of disease. WHO’s latest Global Health Estimates, released today, provide a comprehensive picture of how health has changed across countries and regions between 2000 and 2023, including trends in life expectancy, causes of death, and disease burden.
Global Health Is Recovering, But Healthy Years Lag Behind
Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, close to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019 before the pandemic. Furthermore, healthy life expectancy, or HALE, has recovered more slowly, reaching 62.8 years in 2023, still 0.4 years below its 2019 level.
This gap matters. While people live almost as long as before, they spend more of those years in poor health. Consequently, WHO says the next public health challenge is not just adding years to life, but adding healthy years.
“Living longer is one of the great achievements of public health,” said Dr Alain Labrique, Director of WHO’s Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and AI. “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.”
The Big Shift: NCDs Now Account for 74% of All Deaths
The long-term shift towards noncommunicable diseases continues. NCDs accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2023, compared with just 58% in 2000. Moreover, eight of the world’s ten leading causes of death were NCDs in 2023.
This transition is now visible across all income levels. For the first time in 2023, communicable diseases accounted for less than half of all deaths in low-income countries, marking another major step in the global epidemiological transition.
Cardiovascular Disease Remains the Leading Global Burden
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death and disease burden worldwide. In 2023, ischaemic heart disease alone caused approximately 9.5 million deaths and 210 million disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs, measured in years of healthy life lost.
There has been substantial progress in reducing the burden of ischaemic heart disease since 2000 in many parts of the world. However, WHO recorded increases in individual-level risk in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia Regions, highlighting persistent inequalities in cardiovascular health between populations.
Other chronic conditions are also rising sharply. For example, the risk of dying from diabetes has risen substantially since 2000, particularly in South-East Asia. Alzheimer disease and other dementias have also surged. Dementia became the fifth leading cause of death globally in 2023, compared with 19th in 2000. Global deaths from dementia tripled over this period.
Mental Health and Drug Use Disorders Add to Changing Burden
Mental health conditions are another important part of the changing global picture. Between 2019 and 2023, the global age-standardized DALY rate increased by approximately 20% for depressive disorders and nearly 45% for anxiety disorders.
Together, these two conditions accounted for an estimated 110 million years of healthy life lost through premature death and disability in 2023.
Drug use disorders showed similar regional divergence. Between 2000 and 2023, the WHO Region of the Americas recorded the largest increases in risk of mortality and healthy life loss, while the Western Pacific Region saw substantial declines.
Analysis: What WHO Data Means for Health Systems
1. Recovery is incomplete: Life expectancy recovered, but healthy life expectancy did not. Therefore, health systems face a double burden of aging populations and more years lived with disability.
2. The NCD transition is now universal: When low-income countries also see less than 50% deaths from infectious diseases, it proves that diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and mental health must be prioritized everywhere, not just in rich nations.
3. Inequality is shifting, not disappearing: Progress on heart disease in high-income countries contrasts with rising risk in South-East Asia and Western Pacific, showing that prevention, screening, and treatment access remain uneven.
4. Data is the intervention: WHO emphasizes that the value of these estimates is in shaping policy. As Dr Labrique noted, countries need resilient digital and data infrastructure to analyze health data and generate timely, actionable insights.
Q&A
Q: What is global life expectancy in 2023 according to WHO?
A: Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, very close to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019 before COVID-19, according to WHO’s Global Health Estimates 2000-2023.
Q: What percentage of deaths are caused by NCDs now?
A: Noncommunicable diseases accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2023, up from 58% in 2000. Eight of the top ten causes of death are now NCDs.
Q: What is the leading cause of death worldwide?
A: Ischaemic heart disease remains the leading cause, causing about 9.5 million deaths and 210 million DALYs in 2023.
FAQ
1. What are DALYs?
DALYs, or disability-adjusted life years, measure years of healthy life lost due to premature death and disability. One DALY equals one lost year of healthy life.
2. Why did dementia rise so sharply?
WHO reports dementia rose from the 19th to the 5th leading cause of death between 2000 and 2023, with deaths tripling, due to population aging and better diagnosis, alongside rising risk factors.
3. How much did anxiety and depression increase after COVID?
Between 2019 and 2023, the global DALY rate increased by about 20% for depression and nearly 45% for anxiety disorders.
4. Are infectious diseases no longer a major threat in poor countries?
They remain a threat, but for the first time, they caused less than half of all deaths in low-income countries in 2023, showing the growing burden of NCDs even in those regions.
5. Where can I see the full WHO report?
The data comes from WHO’s Global Health Estimates 2000-2023, which tracks life expectancy, causes of death, and disease burden by country, region, and income level.
