Britain's biggest killers: UK's leading causes of death

Laura Hampson
Updated ·5-min read
Man clutching chest as heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for men in the UK. (Getty Images)
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for men in the UK. (Getty Images)

Up until a decade ago, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease did not feature on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) leading causes of death list. Now it's the UK’s biggest killers.

Until 2011, heart disease had been the top cause of death in the UK, and it’s still the predominant killer for British men.

Dementia, heart disease, lower respiratory diseases, strokes and lung cancer accounted for 212,000 deaths in England and Wales in 2022, or 37% of all recorded deaths.

Influenza and pneumonia is also among the top killers, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) says breast, colon and rectum, prostate and lymphoma cancers make up the rest of the top 10 causes of death in Britain.

Sad old woman. Depressed lonely senior lady with alzheimer, dementia, memory loss or loneliness. Elder person looking out the home window. Sick patient with disorder. Pensive grandma. Widow with grief
Dementia is the leading cause of death for women in the UK. (Getty Images)

Leading causes of death in the UK

1. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is a relatively new addition to the UK’s leading causes of deaths, having only entered the top five list of deaths in 2011 as people live longer.

In 2022, it became the leading cause of death, with 65,967 dementia and Alzheimer’s disease deaths recorded in England and Wales that year, accounting for 11.4% of all deaths. Comparatively, it caused just 14,453 deaths in 2011.

Women are more likely to die from dementia as they tend to live longer than men. In fact, more men die at every age group than women until the age of 85, after which more women die than men. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease accounted for 15% of female deaths in 2022 (42,365).

Read more: Alzheimer's disease - signs and symptoms (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)

2. Heart disease

Ischaemic heart disease is the term given to heart problems cause by narrowed coronary arteries, and this is the leading cause of death for men and the second leading cause of death for all people in England and Wales in 2022.

In total, 59,356 people died from heart disease last year accounting for 10.3% of all deaths. Of these, 38,730 were men and 20,626 were women.

Heart disease - which can be caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity, poor diet and lack of physical activity - has long been a top killer in the UK, accounting for between 40,000 to 67,000 deaths each year since 2001.

3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases (asthma, sleep apnea)

Chronic lower respiratory diseases is an umbrella term that describes diseases of the lungs and airways like sleep apnea, asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

It accounted for a total of 29,815 deaths in 2022, which was 5.2% of all recorded deaths in England and Wales.

Deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases have been slowly climbing since the early 2000s, where they accounted for just 15,000 deaths per year.

Close-up of unrecognizable black woman sitting on couch holding an asthma inhaler
Death from chronic lower respiratory diseases like asthma have steadily risen over the past two decades. (Getty Images)

4. Cerebrovascular disease (stroke, aneurysms)

Cerebrovascular disease is the term used to describe problems with circulation of the blood to the brain, and is another name for a stroke or a brain aneurysm.

At present, it is the fourth biggest killer in the UK, accounting for 29,274 or 5.1% of deaths in England and Wales in 2022.

Women are more likely to die from a stroke than men, with cerebrovascular diseases accounting for 5.7% of female deaths compared to 4.5% of male deaths.

Read more: Strokes - signs and symptoms (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)

5. Lung cancer

Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung, or lung cancer, is currently the fifth biggest cause of death in the UK, accounting for 28,571 or 5% of deaths in 2022. It is more likely to affect men than women.

Smoking causes 70% of lung cancer cases and secondhand smoke can also increase your risk of lung cancer.

Read more: The unusual lung cancer symptom you need to look out for on your hands (HuffPost, 2-min read)

6. Influenza and pneumonia

Influenza and pneumonia is listed as one of the leading causes of death in the UK from2001 to 2010 and then again from 2016 to 2018.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, it became the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for 73,766 deaths, or 12.1% of all deaths recorded that year.

In 2022, COVID-19 was the sixth leading cause of death, accounting for 22,454 deaths and 3.9% of all deaths registered. It was the leading cause of death in 2021, accounting for 67,350 deaths of 11.5% of all deaths registered in England and Wales.

Overhead view of senior Asian woman carrying out a Covid-19 rapid lateral flow test at home. She is holding a positive Coronavirus rapid self test device, feeling worried
COVID-19 was the top cause of death in the UK in 2020 and 2021. (Getty Images)

Leading causes of death in the world

According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest release, the top 10 causes of death worldwide are:

  • Ischaemic heart disease

  • Stroke

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  • Lower respiratory infections

  • Neonatal conditions

  • Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers

  • Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

  • Diarrhoeal diseases

  • Diabetes

  • Kidney diseases

Heart disease is by far the world’s biggest killer, and it has also seen the biggest rise in deaths since 2000 and now accounts for around 8.9 million deaths each year.

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