56 Respiratory Disease Statistics

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These respiratory disease figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Respiratory Disease Statistics

The main findings are:

  • COPD caused approximately 6% of all deaths worldwide in 2023.
  • COPD caused 3.4 million deaths worldwide in 2023.
  • Asthma affected an estimated 363 million people in 2023.
  • An estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with tuberculosis worldwide in 2024.
  • Pneumonia killed 740,180 children under 5 in 2019 (children under 5 worldwide).
  • In 2019, 99% of the world’s population lived in places where WHO air-quality guideline levels were not met.
  • Lower respiratory infections caused 2.5 million deaths worldwide in 2021.
  • Nearly 90% of COPD deaths among people younger than 70 occur in low- and middle-income countries (WHO fact-sheet estimate accessed 2026; low- and middle-income countries compared with global total).
  • Asthma caused an estimated 442,000 deaths in 2023.
  • Global TB incidence was estimated at 131 cases per 100,000 population in 2024.
  • Pneumonia accounted for 14% of all deaths among children under 5 in 2019 (global children under 5).
  • Ambient air pollution caused an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019.
  • Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers caused 1.9 million deaths in 2021 according to the WHO causes-of-death summary.
  • Tobacco smoking accounts for more than 70% of COPD cases in high-income countries (WHO fact-sheet estimate accessed 2026).
  • More than 250 million people were living with asthma worldwide in the WHO 2019 estimate cited in its 2024 update (2019 estimate cited in 2024 WHO update).

Contents

Respiratory disease statistics: the global burden of major lung conditions

  • COPD caused approximately 6% of all deaths worldwide in 2023. (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD))
  • Lower respiratory infections caused 2.5 million deaths worldwide in 2021. (The top 10 causes of…)
  • Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers caused 1.9 million deaths in 2021 according to the WHO causes-of-death summary. (The top 10 causes of…)
  • Trachea, bronchus and lung cancer deaths rose from 1.1 million in 2000 to 1.8 million in 2023 (2000 to 2023). (The top 10 causes of…)
  • Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in 2022, with 1.8 million deaths. (Lung cancer)
  • Lung cancer produced an estimated 2.5 million new cases in 2022. (Lung cancer)
  • Non-small-cell lung cancer accounts for around 85% of lung-cancer cases (WHO fact-sheet estimate accessed 2026). (Lung cancer)

Cause-of-death estimate; percentage is rounded.

WHO cause-of-death estimate; includes lower respiratory infections rather than every respiratory condition.

Cancer category combines trachea, bronchus and lung sites.

WHO series uses cause-of-death estimates and rounded values; the displayed 2021 and 2023 values come from different report updates.

Cancer mortality estimate, not all respiratory mortality.

Estimated incidence, not registry-confirmed cases in every country.

Rounded subtype share; not a measure of survival or treatment response.

COPD statistics: deaths, disability and risk-factor differences

WHO estimate.

Applies specifically to deaths under 70, not all COPD deaths.

Attributable share; not the fraction of smokers who develop COPD.

Attributable range; household air pollution is also a major risk factor in these settings.

Same age-restricted burden expressed as a rounded share; do not generalize to all ages.

Combines two different outcome measures and reporting periods.

Asthma statistics: prevalence, deaths and unequal treatment

  • Asthma affected an estimated 363 million people in 2023. (Asthma)
  • Asthma caused an estimated 442,000 deaths in 2023. (Asthma)
  • More than 250 million people were living with asthma worldwide in the WHO 2019 estimate cited in its 2024 update (2019 estimate cited in 2024 WHO update). (Asthma)
  • Asthma caused an estimated 455,000 deaths in 2019. (Asthma)

GBD-based estimate cited by WHO; underdiagnosis can affect observed case counts.

GBD-based estimate cited by WHO.

Older estimate than the WHO page’s 2023 GBD estimate; figures should not be treated as a time series without harmonization.

WHO historical estimate; differs from the newer 2023 GBD estimate.

Respiratory infection statistics: tuberculosis incidence and mortality

95% uncertainty interval 9.9-11.5 million.

95% uncertainty interval 122-141 per 100,000.

95% uncertainty interval 5.0%-6.7%.

Regional share of estimated global incidence.

95% uncertainty interval 4.2-7.4 million.

95% uncertainty interval 2.7-4.7 million.

95% uncertainty interval 0.87-1.5 million.

Notification completeness differs by age and setting; this is not treatment coverage.

Change is based on WHO estimates and is subject to uncertainty.

Compared with the WHO End TB Strategy milestone of a 50% reduction by 2025.

Rounded WHO estimate; HIV-associated TB deaths are classified under HIV/AIDS in ICD cause-of-death reporting.

95% uncertainty interval 407,000-821,000; includes HIV-negative and HIV-positive deaths.

95% uncertainty interval 269,000-615,000.

95% uncertainty interval 109,000-239,000.

Age subgroup of HIV-negative child and young-adolescent TB deaths; 95% uncertainty interval 71,000-174,000.

Includes people with and without HIV; compared with the End TB baseline.

Pneumonia statistics: child mortality and household-air-pollution exposure

  • Pneumonia killed 740,180 children under 5 in 2019 (children under 5 worldwide). (Pneumonia in children)
  • Pneumonia accounted for 14% of all deaths among children under 5 in 2019 (global children under 5). (Pneumonia in children)
  • Pneumonia accounted for 22% of deaths among children aged 1 to 5 in 2019 (children aged 1-5 worldwide). (Pneumonia in children)
  • Pneumonia and diarrhoea together account for 21% of under-five mortality (WHO guideline context accessed 2026; global children under 5). (Pneumonia in children)
  • Pneumonia and diarrhoea are responsible for an estimated 1.1 million deaths annually among children under 5 (annual estimate cited by WHO in 2023; global children under 5). (Pneumonia in children)
  • Pneumonia and diarrhoea account for 28% of mortality among children aged 5 to 9, equivalent to an estimated 84,000 preventable deaths globally (annual estimate cited by WHO in 2023; children aged 5-9 worldwide). (Pneumonia in children)
  • Almost half of all pneumonia deaths among children under 5 are linked to household air pollution exposure (WHO burden estimate accessed 2026; children under 5 worldwide). (Air quality, energy and health:…)
  • More than 237,000 under-five deaths from pneumonia were attributed to household air pollution in 2019 (children under 5 worldwide). (Air quality, energy and health:…)

WHO page describes this as a global estimate; pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection category.

Share uses all under-five deaths as denominator.

Age wording follows the WHO source; denominator differs from the under-five share.

Combined diseases; not pneumonia alone.

Combined diseases and annual estimate, not pneumonia alone.

Combined diseases; preventability is WHO’s framing and not a measured intervention effect.

Rounded attributable share; household air pollution is an exposure attribution, not a direct death count.

Attributable estimate from WHO environmental-burden materials.

Air-pollution and respiratory disease statistics: exposure and attributable outcomes

Guideline exceedance is not equivalent to a diagnosis or individual exposure dose.

Attributable burden estimate based on fine particulate exposure and modeled risks.

Joint estimate; components should not be added to other overlapping risk estimates.

Share of the 4.2 million ambient-air-pollution deaths, not all respiratory deaths.

Attributable cause share; denominator is ambient-air-pollution deaths.

Primary reliance on polluting fuels; this is an exposure-related population measure, not respiratory disease prevalence.

WHO burden estimate; causes overlap with other risk-factor classifications.

Attributable cause share; denominator is household-air-pollution deaths.

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