Worldwide cancer statistics

• There were 18.1 million new cases of cancer worldwide in 2020, it is estimated.

• The four most common cancers occurring worldwide are female breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancers. These four account for more than four in ten of all cancers diagnosed worldwide.

• Worldwide there will be 28 million new cases of cancer each year by 2040.

• UK incidence is ranked higher than three-quarters of Europe.

• UK incidence is ranked higher than 90% of the world.

Read more in-depth worldwide cancer incidence statistics

• There were 10 million deaths from cancer worldwide in 2020, it is estimated.

• Lung, bowel, liver and stomach are the most common causes of cancer death worldwide, accounting for more than four in ten of all cancer deaths.

• Lung, liver, stomach and bowel cancers have been the four most common causes of cancer death since 1975.

• UK mortality is ranked lower than two-thirds of Europe.

• UK mortality is ranked higher than two-thirds of the world.

Read more in-depth worldwide cancer mortality statistics

• A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors). Cancer risk factors are overall similar worldwide. Smoking, insufficient physical activity, alcohol, diet, overweight and obesity, and infections account for a high proportion of cancers worldwide, as they do in the UK.

• Prevalence of different risk factors varies by region and country, this is partly why overall cancer incidence rates, and the most common types of cancer, also vary by region and country.

• Worldwide, 1 billion adults currently smoke cigarettes.

• Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in the world, and around a third of tobacco-caused deaths are due to cancer (2015 projected).

• Alcohol drinking causes an estimated 6% of deaths worldwide, around 1 in 8 of which are due to cancer (2012). Alcohol drinking prevalence is highest in Europe and America.

• Overweight and obesity prevalence is increasing particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Overweight and obesity are leading causes of death worldwide.

• Unhealthy diets, e.g. low in fruit and vegetables and high in salt, are becoming more common in lower-resource countries.

• Infections cause 18% of the global cancer burden, with a much higher proportion in low-income countries.

Read more in-depth worldwide cancer risk factors