Burden of disease in South Africa
South Africa: Burden of disease was 55,776 DALYs per 100,000 people in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
55,776 DALYs per 100,000 people
Change on year
up 13.6%
World rank
16th
of 194 countries
All-time high
81,453 DALYs per 100,000 people
in 2006
All-time low
46,269 DALYs per 100,000 people
in 2019
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Burden of disease in South Africa, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in DALYs per 100,000 people.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 55,776 DALYs per 100,000 people for burden of disease in 2021.
That represents a change of up 13.6% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, burden of disease in South Africa peaked at 81,453 DALYs per 100,000 people in 2006 and was at its lowest, 46,269 DALYs per 100,000 people, in 2019.
That places South Africa 16th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Burden of disease in South Africa, year by year
| Year | DALYs per 100,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 63,286 DALYs per 100,000 people | — |
| 2001 | 67,083 DALYs per 100,000 people | +6.0% |
| 2002 | 71,956 DALYs per 100,000 people | +7.3% |
| 2003 | 76,713 DALYs per 100,000 people | +6.6% |
| 2004 | 79,727 DALYs per 100,000 people | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 81,139 DALYs per 100,000 people | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 81,453 DALYs per 100,000 people | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 79,285 DALYs per 100,000 people | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 76,591 DALYs per 100,000 people | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 72,470 DALYs per 100,000 people | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 66,822 DALYs per 100,000 people | -7.8% |
| 2011 | 61,235 DALYs per 100,000 people | -8.4% |
| 2012 | 56,837 DALYs per 100,000 people | -7.2% |
| 2013 | 53,750 DALYs per 100,000 people | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 52,087 DALYs per 100,000 people | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 50,902 DALYs per 100,000 people | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 49,467 DALYs per 100,000 people | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 47,702 DALYs per 100,000 people | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 46,792 DALYs per 100,000 people | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 46,269 DALYs per 100,000 people | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 49,092 DALYs per 100,000 people | +6.1% |
| 2021 | 55,776 DALYs per 100,000 people | +13.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 74,970 DALYs per 100,000 people | 63,286 DALYs per 100,000 people | 81,453 DALYs per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 53,186 DALYs per 100,000 people | 46,269 DALYs per 100,000 people | 66,822 DALYs per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 52,434 DALYs per 100,000 people | 49,092 DALYs per 100,000 people | 55,776 DALYs per 100,000 people | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 13 Democratic Republic of Congo 57,875 DALYs per 100,000 people compare
- 14 Bulgaria 56,818 DALYs per 100,000 people compare
- 15 Guinea-Bissau 55,999 DALYs per 100,000 people compare
- 17 Afghanistan 55,678 DALYs per 100,000 people compare
- 18 Equatorial Guinea 54,506 DALYs per 100,000 people compare
- 19 Burkina Faso 53,143 DALYs per 100,000 people compare
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,152 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 3,333 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 80 and above, female, per capita 0.0081 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, annual growth rate 2.35 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, per capita 0.0035 units per person (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, gaps filled 5,666 (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is burden of disease in South Africa?
- Burden of disease in South Africa was 55,776 DALYs per 100,000 people in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest burden of disease recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 81,453 DALYs per 100,000 people in 2006.
- What is the lowest burden of disease recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 46,269 DALYs per 100,000 people in 2019.
- How does South Africa rank for burden of disease?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is burden of disease rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Burden of disease. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of DALYs from all causes in both sexes, per 100,000 people.