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New Data on the Global Burden of Disease

Minimized bar diagram on annual deaths from major global challenges in 2023.

Today, a new version of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study has been published. It provides global, national and sub-national estimates for 2023 on 292 causes of death and 88 risk factors for health, etc.

We present selected findings of the GBD study related to global challenges that mainly stem from limited access to vital resources such as food, clean air or healthcare.

Here are the results in order of magnitude:

Bar diagram on deaths from major global challenges in 2023.

Among the major global challenges, outdoor air pollution is the leading risk factor for human health, to which the study attributed approximately 4.93 million deaths worldwide in 2023.
Lead pollution was responsible for around 3.48 million deaths (a much higher figure than in previous releases).
Indoor air pollution, caused by burning solid fuels inside without proper ventilation systems, was linked to 2.76 million deaths in 2023.
Child and maternal undernutrition claimed the lives of 2.57 million children.
Lower respiratory infections (including pneumonia and influenza, but excluding COVID-19) caused 2.50 million deaths, establishing them as the largest infectious killer globally.
Secondhand smoke accounted for a death toll of 1.66 million people.
Neonatal disorders took the lives of 1.63 million newborns.
Road traffic accidents resulted in 1.34 million deaths.
Occupational diseases and accidents were estimated to have 1.16 million workers succumbed to them.
Unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lacking access to a handwashing facility triggered enteric or diarrhoeal diseases that killed 1.16 million people.
Hepatitis B and C caused 1.13 million deaths, primarily through related liver cancer and cirrhosis.
Tuberculosis (TB) killed 1.01 million people. Among them, approximately 102 000 people died from resistant strains of the bacteria.
HIV/AIDS resulted in 833 000 deaths, including 19 500 from resistant forms of the virus.
On COVID-19, the GBD study estimates that approximately 798 000 deaths in 2023 were caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, down from the peak of the pandemic at 9,42 million in 2021, when it was the leading cause of death.
Malaria led to 670 000 deaths in 2023, predominantly among children.
Exposure to unhealthy high temperatures is a risk factor that partially captures the disease burden attributable to climate change. Since 1990, the death toll due to prolonged high temperatures has increased by 291 000 lives. About 83 400 lives were lost due to waves of extreme temperature.
Childhood sexual abuse led to the death of around 290 000 victims in 2023.
Maternal disorders caused the death of 240 000 women and girls.
Armed conflict and terrorism led to an estimated 159 000 deaths in 2023.
Intimate partner violence against women was responsible for 145 000 deaths.
Measles killed 144 000 people.
Adverse effects of medical treatment are estimated to have claimed the lives of 103 000 patients.
Natural disasters are estimated to have resulted in 88 600 deaths in 2023.

As mentioned above, the GBD study estimates deaths from resistant types of TB and HIV (totalling 121 000 deaths in 2023). Unfortunately, the study does not comprehensively assess antimicrobial resistance, although a previous GBD report estimated about 1.27 million deaths attributable to it in 2019. This figure includes mortality from resistant E.coli, S aureus, K pneumoniae and other pathogens (see source 3).

In total, the GBD study provides very useful estimates for data-based assessments of major global challenges.

Sources

GBD 2023 Collaborators in: The Lancet, October 12, 2025 (www.thelancet.com/gbd/collection).
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation 2025: GBD 2023 Results Tool (vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/) (registration required).
GBD Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators: Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. In: The Lancet, vol. 399, No. 10325, January 19, 2022 (www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext).

Suggested citation:
Global2030: New Data on the Global Burden of Disease. Berlin, Global Challenges Initiative e.V., 12 October 2025. (www.global2030.net/news/new_global_burden_of_disease_data_2025.html).