Who dies of infections?
In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 1.8% of men and 1.9% of women eventually die of infections. It is the most likely cause of death in 2 of their 1,152 country, sex and age groups.
The risk by age
Chance of dying of infections 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% (0.86% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 20–24 | <0.01% (1.1% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 25–29 | 0.01% (1.5% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.6% of the risk) |
| 30–34 | 0.02% (1.6% of the risk) | 0.01% (1.9% of the risk) |
| 35–39 | 0.03% (1.6% of the risk) | 0.02% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 40–44 | 0.04% (1.8% of the risk) | 0.02% (1.6% of the risk) |
| 45–49 | 0.07% (1.7% of the risk) | 0.03% (1.5% of the risk) |
| 50–54 | 0.10% (1.4% of the risk) | 0.05% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 55–59 | 0.15% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.07% (1.5% of the risk) |
| 60–64 | 0.20% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.12% (1.6% of the risk) |
| 65–69 | 0.33% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.23% (1.7% of the risk) |
| 70–74 | 0.52% (1.7% of the risk) | 0.39% (1.9% of the risk) |
| 75–79 | 0.93% (1.7% of the risk) | 0.71% (2.0% of the risk) |
| 80–84 | 1.3% (1.8% of the risk) | 1.1% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 85–89 | 1.6% (1.8% of the risk) | 1.5% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 90–94 | 1.6% (1.7% of the risk) | 1.5% (1.6% of the risk) |
Where it's the most likely cause of death
Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries
Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries
What changes the odds
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 2.2 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
This group includes sepsis, hepatitis, HIV and tuberculosis. Vaccines, testing and treatment prevent many deaths — and sepsis needs help fast: very fast breathing, confusion or slurred speech, blue, pale or blotchy skin, or a rash that doesn't fade when pressed mean call your emergency number.
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Related: COVID-19
Questions
- At what age is infections most likely to be the cause of death?
- For men, infections takes its largest share of deaths at 80–84: 1.8% 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 infections?
- Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, Türkiye has the highest lifetime chance of dying of infections for men (4.1%), and Finland the lowest (0.29%).
- What raises the risk of dying of infections?
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 2.2 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
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.