Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States
United States: Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and was 16.5% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States, 2000–2021
Source: Global Health Estimates, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States is 16.5%, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.6% on the previous year and up 187.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States peaked at 16.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2019.
United States ranks 143rd of 185 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.4% | — |
| 2010 | 5.8% | -9.7% |
| 2015 | 5.7% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 5.1% | -10.7% |
| 2020 | 15.2% | +197.3% |
| 2021 | 16.5% | +8.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 16.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 16.5%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 5.1% | 5.8% | 3 |
| 2020s | 15.9% | 15.2% | 16.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 140 Morocco 17.0% compare
- 141 United Arab Emirates 16.8% compare
- 142 Jamaica 16.7% compare
- 144 Netherlands 16.5% compare
- 145 Saudi Arabia 16.5% compare
- 146 Barbados 16.4% compare
More health data for United States
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1867 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,069 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,015 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.056 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0261 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.1919 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States?
- Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and in United States was 16.5% in 2021, according to Global Health Estimates, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2019.
- How does United States rank for cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and?
- United States ranks 143rd out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
- Is cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 187.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Estimates, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and nutrition conditions (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Cause of death refers to the share of all deaths for all ages by underlying causes. Communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and nutrition conditions include infectious and parasitic diseases, respiratory infections, and nutritional deficiencies such as underweight and stunting.