Causes of death · India · 2023
What people in India die of, at every age
Each band is a cause of death, as thick as the number of people of that age it killed in India in 2023. Deaths are fewest between 5 and 14, then swell after 40 as birth and infections give way to heart disease, stroke and lung disease.
Hover over the stream for the numbers
Deaths in India, 2023How India dies, age by ageEach band is a cause. Its thickness is the number of deaths in each five-year age group.
- Birth and pregnancy
- Infections and malnutrition
- Injuries
- Cancers
- Heart and stroke
- Lungs
- Diabetes, kidney and blood
- Liver, brain and other
Deaths are written in lakh: 1 lakh is 100,000, or 0.1 million, so 10 lakh is 1 million.
Table +
| Cause | Under 5 | 5–9 | 10–14 | 15–19 | 20–24 | 25–29 | 30–34 | 35–39 | 40–44 | 45–49 | 50–54 | 55–59 | 60–64 | 65–69 | 70–74 | 75–79 | 80–84 | 85+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preterm birth | 1.8 lakh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Birth asphyxia and trauma | 76,600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Birth defects, newborn infections and maternal | 1.2 lakh | 3,400 | 3,900 | 6,000 | 7,500 | 6,400 | 5,300 | 3,800 | 2,500 | 1,600 | 900 | 100 | 600 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pneumonia | 74,800 | 4,100 | 3,500 | 4,400 | 3,700 | 3,400 | 4,400 | 4,600 | 4,700 | 6,200 | 10,000 | 14,600 | 20,100 | 20,200 | 40,400 | 40,700 | 56,600 | 70,500 |
| Diarrhoea | 21,500 | 4,600 | 4,300 | 8,800 | 9,000 | 7,400 | 9,200 | 8,000 | 7,900 | 8,900 | 14,500 | 18,900 | 26,600 | 26,300 | 58,900 | 54,500 | 78,400 | 1.5 lakh |
| Tuberculosis | 38,200 | 300 | 500 | 2,200 | 4,300 | 6,800 | 10,200 | 12,000 | 14,100 | 17,900 | 20,600 | 31,300 | 28,500 | 30,100 | 33,200 | 23,300 | 16,500 | 17,200 |
| Other infections and malnutrition | 90,100 | 9,600 | 10,300 | 15,700 | 15,800 | 12,600 | 15,900 | 16,000 | 16,700 | 17,300 | 19,800 | 18,100 | 18,600 | 16,600 | 20,400 | 19,300 | 23,300 | 44,600 |
| Road accidents | 2,500 | 2,900 | 2,800 | 9,600 | 20,900 | 23,000 | 24,600 | 24,300 | 21,700 | 18,100 | 17,400 | 16,300 | 14,000 | 12,500 | 8,900 | 5,300 | 4,100 | 4,200 |
| Suicide | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 19,200 | 27,200 | 27,100 | 23,300 | 19,200 | 18,200 | 13,700 | 11,500 | 9,300 | 7,900 | 6,600 | 5,900 | 4,100 | 3,100 | 2,900 |
| Drowning, burns, falls, violence and other injuries | 23,000 | 13,700 | 15,300 | 33,900 | 36,100 | 33,600 | 39,600 | 36,300 | 31,500 | 28,900 | 36,500 | 30,800 | 34,600 | 32,500 | 39,100 | 37,300 | 43,800 | 74,000 |
| Cancers | 4,600 | 3,900 | 3,800 | 4,500 | 5,900 | 10,700 | 16,600 | 30,100 | 48,700 | 71,800 | 97,700 | 1.2 lakh | 1.3 lakh | 1.3 lakh | 1 lakh | 64,800 | 39,700 | 27,700 |
| Coronary heart disease | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 7,300 | 11,300 | 25,900 | 34,100 | 51,200 | 71,400 | 1.4 lakh | 1.6 lakh | 1.9 lakh | 1.7 lakh | 1.8 lakh | 1.6 lakh | 1.9 lakh | 2.3 lakh |
| Stroke | 3,300 | 200 | 1,000 | 3,600 | 3,000 | 3,500 | 8,300 | 14,100 | 21,200 | 32,000 | 66,500 | 77,000 | 1.1 lakh | 1.2 lakh | 1.3 lakh | 1.3 lakh | 1.4 lakh | 1.8 lakh |
| High blood pressure and other heart disease | 4,000 | 1,100 | 2,500 | 4,600 | 7,800 | 10,600 | 16,900 | 22,800 | 27,700 | 29,000 | 50,200 | 46,100 | 54,800 | 52,900 | 58,700 | 63,700 | 93,100 | 1.6 lakh |
| COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 700 | 1,000 | 1,300 | 3,600 | 5,000 | 8,300 | 14,000 | 39,700 | 52,500 | 88,400 | 1.1 lakh | 1.6 lakh | 1.6 lakh | 2.1 lakh | 2.7 lakh |
| Asthma and other lung disease | 1,400 | 300 | 500 | 2,500 | 2,900 | 2,600 | 5,900 | 7,100 | 8,400 | 10,000 | 19,300 | 20,400 | 22,700 | 22,800 | 29,000 | 27,000 | 33,400 | 41,000 |
| Diabetes | 0 | 100 | 300 | 1,600 | 2,300 | 2,400 | 5,300 | 7,500 | 11,800 | 21,600 | 44,300 | 57,200 | 78,300 | 73,200 | 80,700 | 75,900 | 79,300 | 99,100 |
| Kidney, blood and urinary | 2,500 | 600 | 1,200 | 4,400 | 6,100 | 5,700 | 9,100 | 10,300 | 11,100 | 12,400 | 20,700 | 16,900 | 20,500 | 18,400 | 23,200 | 18,900 | 21,300 | 35,000 |
| Liver cirrhosis | 800 | 600 | 900 | 3,800 | 4,900 | 9,100 | 12,500 | 19,000 | 21,700 | 19,600 | 27,100 | 23,000 | 20,800 | 15,100 | 15,100 | 10,500 | 9,000 | 9,500 |
| Dementia and Parkinson’s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 600 | 2,100 | 3,600 | 7,900 | 11,600 | 20,200 | 27,500 | 52,500 | 1.1 lakh |
| Everything else | 7,400 | 1,700 | 3,100 | 9,800 | 11,300 | 12,400 | 15,900 | 17,200 | 16,100 | 15,600 | 21,800 | 20,000 | 21,800 | 19,300 | 22,400 | 20,300 | 23,200 | 34,400 |
| All causes | 6.5 lakh | 47,100 | 56,400 | 1.4 lakh | 1.8 lakh | 1.9 lakh | 2.5 lakh | 2.9 lakh | 3.4 lakh | 4.1 lakh | 6.6 lakh | 7.3 lakh | 9 lakh | 8.8 lakh | 10.3 lakh | 9.4 lakh | 11.2 lakh | 15.5 lakh |
Sources +
Deaths: WHO Global Health Estimates, deaths by cause, age and sex for India in 2023, released September 2026, read from WHO’s public data API.
These are modelled estimates, not a count. Most deaths in India are registered without a medically certified cause, so WHO combines India’s sample registration surveys, medical certification and other studies to estimate them. Figures for small causes, and for the youngest and oldest ages, are the least certain.
The stream is centred, so a band’s thickness, not its height on the page, is its number of deaths. WHO splits the first five years into the first month, the rest of the first year and ages 1–4; they are joined here so every age group covers five years. The last group, 85 and over, takes in every age past 85, so it is wider partly because it spans more years. The stream is smoothed between the middles of the age groups. These are deaths of people of different ages in one year, not one generation followed through life. Some causes shown combine several of WHO’s:
- Birth defects, newborn infections and maternal: Maternal conditions, Neonatal sepsis and infections, Other neonatal conditions, Neural tube defects, Cleft lip and cleft palate, Down syndrome, Congenital heart anomalies, Other chromosomal anomalies, Other congenital anomalies, Sudden infant death syndrome.
- Pneumonia: Lower respiratory infections, Upper respiratory infections.
- Other infections and malnutrition: Syphilis, Chlamydia, Other STDs, HIV/AIDS, Whooping cough, Measles, Tetanus, Meningitis, Encephalitis, Acute hepatitis A, Acute hepatitis B, Acute hepatitis C, Acute hepatitis E, Malaria, Visceral leishmaniasis, Cysticercosis, Dengue, Rabies, Ascariasis, Other infectious diseases, COVID-19, Protein-energy malnutrition, Other nutritional deficiencies.
- Drowning, burns, falls, violence and other injuries: Poisonings, Falls, Fire, heat and hot substances, Drowning, Exposure to mechanical forces, Natural disasters, Other unintentional injuries, Interpersonal violence, Collective violence and legal intervention.
- Cancers: Lip and oral cavity, Nasopharynx, Other pharynx, Oesophagus cancer, Stomach cancer, Colon and rectum cancers, Liver cancer secondary to hepatitis B, Liver cancer secondary to hepatitis C, Liver cancer secondary to alcohol use, Other liver cancer, Pancreas cancer, Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers, Malignant skin melanoma, Non-melanoma skin cancer, Breast cancer, Cervix uteri cancer, Corpus uteri cancer, Ovary cancer, Prostate cancer, Testicular cancer, Kidney cancer, Bladder cancer, Brain and nervous system cancers, Gallbladder and biliary tract cancer, Larynx cancer, Thyroid cancer, Mesothelioma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Multiple myeloma, Leukaemia, Other malignant neoplasms, Other neoplasms.
- Stroke: Ischaemic stroke, Haemorrhagic stroke.
- High blood pressure and other heart disease: Rheumatic heart disease, Hypertensive heart disease, Cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, endocarditis, Other circulatory diseases.
- Asthma and other lung disease: Asthma, Other respiratory diseases.
- Kidney, blood and urinary: Thalassaemias, Sickle cell disorders and trait, Other haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias, Other endocrine, blood and immune disorders, Acute glomerulonephritis, Chronic kidney disease due to diabetes, Other chronic kidney disease, Urolithiasis, Other urinary diseases, Gynecological diseases.
- Liver cirrhosis: Cirrhosis due to hepatitis B, Cirrhosis due to hepatitis C, Cirrhosis due to alcohol use, Other liver cirrhosis.
- Dementia and Parkinson’s: Alzheimer disease and other dementias, Parkinson disease.
- Everything else: Alcohol use disorders, Opioid use disorders, Cocaine use disorders, Amphetamine use disorders, Other drug use disorders, Epilepsy, Multiple sclerosis, Other neurological conditions, Peptic ulcer disease, Appendicitis, Gastritis and duodenitis, Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction, Inflammatory bowel disease, Gallbladder and biliary diseases, Pancreatitis, Other digestive diseases, Other specified skin diseases, Other skin and subcutaneous diseases, Rheumatoid arthritis, Other musculoskeletal disorders.