Cause of death, by injury in South Africa
South Africa: Cause of death, by injury was 8.5% in 2021. ▬ Flat
Cause of death, by injury in South Africa, 2000–2021
Source: Global Health Estimates, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
In 2021, cause of death, by injury in South Africa stood at 8.5%. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.4% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cause of death, by injury in South Africa peaked at 11.7% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 2021.
That places South Africa 49th out of 185 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
Cause of death, by injury in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10.0% | — |
| 2010 | 8.9% | -11.0% |
| 2015 | 11.4% | +27.4% |
| 2019 | 11.7% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 9.9% | -16.0% |
| 2021 | 8.5% | -13.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 8.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6.0%, 1.4× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 8.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.5%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.0% | 10.0% | 10.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 10.7% | 8.9% | 11.7% | 3 |
| 2020s | 9.2% | 8.5% | 9.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5504 % 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 0.045 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.0003 % 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 injury in South Africa?
- Cause of death, by injury in South Africa was 8.5% in 2021, according to Global Health Estimates, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest cause of death, by injury recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.7% in 2019.
- What is the lowest cause of death, by injury recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 2021.
- How does South Africa rank for cause of death, by injury?
- South Africa ranks 49th out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
- Is cause of death, by injury rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Estimates, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Cause of death, by injury (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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. Injuries include unintentional and intentional injuries.