Probability of death by different causes
04 Aug 2022The discussion about death is usually considered morbid and is avoided in most cultures that I’ve grown in despite the fact that it remains the most certain and inescapable event for all mortals.
While walking today, I thought I would go and read about the odds of dying from different causes. Looks like, lot of studies have happened in different parts of the world.
Following is a summary of some of the probabilities of deaths in United States per 2020:
| Cause of Death | Probability | Odds (x in y) |
|---|---|---|
| Heart Disease | 16% | 1 in 6 |
| Cancer | 14.2% | 1 in 7 |
| COVID-19 | 8.3% | 1 in 12 |
| All preventable causes of death | 4.7% | 1 in 21 |
| Chronic lower respiratory disease | 3.6% | 1 in 28 |
| Opioid overdose | 1.5% | 1 in 67 |
| Suicide | 1% | 1 in 93 |
| Motor Vehicle Crash | 0.99% | 1 in 101 |
| Fall | 0.98% | 1 in 102 |
| Gun Assault | 0.45% | 1 in 221 |
| Pedestrian Incident | 0.18% | 1 in 541 |
| Motorcyclist | 0.12% | 1 in 799 |
| Drowning | 0.09% | 1 in 1024 |
| Fire or Smoke | 0.07% | 1 in 1450 |
| Choking on food | 0.04% | 1 in 2745 |
| Bicyclist | 0.03% | 1 in 3396 |
| Sunstroke | 0.015% | 1 in 6368 |
| Accidental gun discharge | 0.012% | 1 in 7998 |
| Electrocution, radiation, extreme temperatures, and pressure | 0.007% | 1 in 14705 |
| Sharp objects | 0.004% | 1 in 26744 |
| Cataclysmic storm | 0.003% | 1 in 35074 |
| Hot surfaces and substances | 0.002% | 1 in 50341 |
| Hornet, wasp, and bee stings | 0.0017% | 1 in 57825 |
| Dog attack | 0.0014% | 1 in 69016 |
| Lightning | - | Too few deaths in 2020 to calculate odds |
| Railway passenger | - | Too few deaths in 2020 to calculate odds |
| Passenger on an airplane | - | Too few deaths in 2020 to calculate odds |
Source: InjuryFacts
Just looking at different cause heads, I feel that these odds will look so different for developing nations.I would really want to find and prepare similar data for India (2020+) and possibly, Indonesia (2020+).
If you have come across any published data source related to this then please do help share on Twitter or Mail me.