South Africa vs Sri Lanka: Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death
South Africa
16.5%
in 2020
Sri Lanka
17.7%
in 2019
South Africa rank
10th
Sri Lanka rank
9th
Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death over time
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 17.7% against 16.5% in South Africa, a difference of 1.2%.
That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
Across all 20 years both countries report, Sri Lanka has been ahead every year.
South Africa ranks 10th and Sri Lanka ranks 9th of 113 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.3% | 32.8% | 19.5% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 12.7% | 21.1% | 8.4% | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 13.4% | 16.9% | 3.5% | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death, South Africa or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 17.7% against 16.5% in South Africa as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death between South Africa and Sri Lanka?
- 1.2%, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sri Lanka?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2019.
- How do South Africa and Sri Lanka rank globally for share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death?
- South Africa ranks 10th and Sri Lanka ranks 9th of 113 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of total reported deaths in both sexes in those aged all ages that are from ill-defined diseases.