Who dies of brain cancer?
In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 0.64% of men and 0.54% of women eventually die of brain cancer. It is never the most likely cause of death for any one country, sex and age group — but it adds up over a lifetime.
The risk by age
Chance of dying of brain cancer within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.
| Age | men | women |
|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | <0.01% (1.5% of the risk) | <0.01% (2.6% of the risk) |
| 20–24 | 0.01% (1.5% of the risk) | <0.01% (2.2% of the risk) |
| 25–29 | 0.02% (2.0% of the risk) | 0.01% (2.7% of the risk) |
| 30–34 | 0.03% (2.1% of the risk) | 0.02% (2.8% of the risk) |
| 35–39 | 0.04% (2.0% of the risk) | 0.02% (2.5% of the risk) |
| 40–44 | 0.06% (2.1% of the risk) | 0.04% (2.3% of the risk) |
| 45–49 | 0.08% (2.0% of the risk) | 0.05% (2.3% of the risk) |
| 50–54 | 0.12% (1.8% of the risk) | 0.08% (2.2% of the risk) |
| 55–59 | 0.16% (1.6% of the risk) | 0.11% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 60–64 | 0.19% (1.3% of the risk) | 0.14% (1.5% of the risk) |
| 65–69 | 0.22% (1.0% of the risk) | 0.16% (1.1% of the risk) |
| 70–74 | 0.23% (0.63% of the risk) | 0.17% (0.69% of the risk) |
| 75–79 | 0.21% (0.41% of the risk) | 0.17% (0.41% of the risk) |
| 80–84 | 0.18% (0.24% of the risk) | 0.14% (0.22% of the risk) |
| 85–89 | 0.13% (0.15% of the risk) | 0.10% (0.11% of the risk) |
| 90–94 | 0.08% (0.08% of the risk) | 0.05% (0.06% of the risk) |
Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries
Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries
What changes the odds
Most brain tumours can't be prevented. A headache that keeps getting worse, a first seizure, or changes in vision, speech or behaviour are reasons to see a doctor.
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Questions
- At what age is brain cancer most likely to be the cause of death?
- For men, brain cancer takes its largest share of deaths at 40–44: 2.1% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
- Which country has the highest risk of dying of brain cancer?
- Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, Iceland has the highest lifetime chance of dying of brain cancer for men (1.0%), and Moldova the lowest (0.48%).
Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.