Cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death, but its prevalence varies significantly from country to country.

In this infographic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu shows age-standardized cancer incidence rates across 180+ countries, revealing striking contrasts between different regions. Understanding these differences sheds light on how lifestyles, environment, and healthcare reporting all contribute.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization comes from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). It presents age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) per 100,000 people, enabling a more fair comparison between regions with different population structures.

Country
Age-standardized
Rate (ASR)
New cases
(both sexes, 2022)
🇦🇺 Australia
463
212,332
🇳🇿 New Zealand
427
38,157
🇩🇰 Denmark
375
48,840
🇺🇸 U.S.
367
2,380,189
🇳🇴 Norway
358
40,305
🇨🇦 Canada
346
292,098
🇮🇪 Ireland
345
31,242
🇳🇱 Netherlands
341
132,319
🇫🇷 France
339
483,568
🇭🇺 Hungary
337
66,340
🇧🇪 Belgium
325
81,132
🇭🇷 Croatia
313
28,809
🇸🇪 Sweden
310
69,261
🇬🇧 UK
308
454,954
🇸🇮 Slovenia
305
14,402
🇵🇹 Portugal
295
69,567
🇨🇭 Switzerland
293
58,330
🇨🇾 Cyprus
292
6,198
🇱🇻 Latvia
289
11,458
🇱🇹 Lithuania
288
16,413
🇳🇨 New Caledonia
288
1,149
🇮🇹 Italy
285
436,242
🇸🇰 Slovakia
283
30,913
🇪🇪 Estonia
283
8,050
🇲🇹 Malta
283
2,855
🇨🇿 Czechia
281
65,676
🇺🇾 Uruguay
280
16,817
🇫🇮 Finland
277
37,660
🇷🇴 Romania
277
104,661
🇪🇸 Spain
275
278,729
🇩🇪 Germany
274
605,805
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
273
3,440
🇧🇾 Belarus
273
46,402
🇮🇸 Iceland
268
1,777
🇯🇵 Japan
267
1,005,157
🇵🇱 Poland
263
208,900
🇬🇷 Greece
259
65,703
🇦🇹 Austria
259
50,682
🇷🇸 Serbia
250
42,039
🇷🇺 Russia
248
635,560
🇮🇱 Israel
246
30,438
🇼🇸 Samoa
240
400
🇲🇪 Montenegro
238
2,739
🇲🇳 Mongolia
236
6,699
🇰🇷 South Korea
235
237,701
🇲🇩 Moldova
232
14,816
🇸🇬 Singapore
231
25,250
🇵🇫 French Polynesia
228
877
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
227
13,778
🇹🇷 Türkiye
226
240,013
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
222
32,812
🇨🇺 Cuba
221
49,688
🇧🇦 Bosnia Herzegovina
219
14,265
🇦🇷 Argentina
216
133,420
🇧🇷 Brazil
214
627,193
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
208
17,725
🇲🇰 North Macedonia
207
7,563
🇧🇧 Barbados
205
1,120
🇬🇫 French Guyana
204
589
🇿🇦 South Africa
203
111,321
🇨🇳 China
202
4,824,703
🇦🇲 Armenia
202
9,520
🇺🇦 Ukraine
200
155,239
🇯🇲 Jamaica
200
7,500
🇬🇪 Georgia
198
13,689
🇳🇦 Namibia
194
3,453
🇧🇸 Bahamas
193
955
🇵🇾 Paraguay
192
13,783
🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam
192
925
🇨🇱 Chile
189
59,876
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea
189
12,190
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
187
3,931
🇵🇭 Philippines
185
188,976
🇻🇪 Venezuela
185
62,947
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
178
13,325
🇨🇴 Colombia
178
117,620
🇫🇯 Fiji
175
1,601
🇵🇪 Peru
174
72,827
🇸🇷 Suriname
170
1,119
🇱🇧 Lebanon
169
13,034
🇬🇺 Guam
167
412
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
167
20,171
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia
167
448
🇪🇬 Egypt
166
150,578
🇰🇵 North Korea
166
61,533
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
162
36,225
🇦🇱 Albania
161
8,019
🇲🇼 Malawi
160
19,846
🇿🇲 Zambia
160
15,296
🇵🇦 Panama
155
8,353
🇱🇦 Laos
155
9,101
🇹🇭 Thailand
154
183,541
🇺🇬 Uganda
154
35,968
🇪🇨 Ecuador
153
30,888
🇯🇴 Jordan
153
12,328
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
152
18,503
🇵🇸 Gaza Strip & West Bank
152
5,030
🇻🇳 Vietnam
151
180,480
🇲🇦 Morocco
150
63,609
🇰🇪 Kenya
149
44,726
🇮🇷 Iran
149
137,198
🇧🇴 Bolivia
144
17,579
🇬🇾 Guyana
143
1,225
🇲🇾 Malaysia
142
51,650
🇩🇿 Algeria
141
64,713
🇭🇹 Haiti
141
13,860
🇲🇽 Mexico
141
207,154
🇹🇿 Tanzania
140
44,931
🇲🇺 Mauritius
140
2,888
🇲🇱 Mali
140
15,151
🇸🇾 Syria
139
21,926
🇰🇭 Cambodia
138
19,795
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
137
21,352
🇮🇩 Indonesia
137
408,661
🇮🇶 Iraq
137
37,382
🇲🇲 Myanmar
136
77,603
🇹🇳 Tunisia
135
20,551
🇸🇿 Eswatini
135
1,108
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands
135
684
🇦🇴 Angola
134
24,607
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
134
8,409
🇱🇾 Libya
132
8,171
🇲🇿 Mozambique
129
26,578
🇧🇮 Burundi
128
7,997
🇭🇳 Honduras
128
10,815
🇸🇻 El Salvador
127
9,799
🇨🇲 Cameroon
126
19,564
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
126
7,266
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
125
14,538
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan
123
6,807
🇬🇹 Guatemala
122
17,801
🇸🇴 Somalia
121
10,681
🇬🇭 Ghana
120
27,385
🇹🇩 Chad
118
10,185
🇲🇬 Madagascar
117
21,297
🇬🇳 Guinea
116
8,777
🇱🇸 Lesotho
116
2,027
🇧🇼 Botswana
115
2,317
🇱🇷 Liberia
115
3,873
🇧🇿 Belize
115
409
🇬🇦 Gabon
114
1,875
🇸🇳 Senegal
114
11,841
🇧🇭 Bahrain
114
1,383
🇳🇬 Nigeria
114
127,763
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
113
35,900
🇰🇼 Kuwait
111
4,347
🇻🇺 Vanuatu
108
250
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
108
926
🇹🇬 Togo
108
5,491
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
107
33,243
🇰🇲 Comoros
107
619
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
106
24,275
🇵🇰 Pakistan
106
185,748
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
106
167,256
🇴🇲 Oman
105
4,045
🇲🇷 Mauritania
105
3,274
🇲🇻 Maldives
105
479
🇦🇪 UAE
105
5,526
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
105
144
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
105
80,334
🇨🇩 DRC
103
52,612
🇧🇯 Benin
103
7,496
🇨🇫 Central African Republic
102
2,690
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau
100
1,170
🇪🇷 Eritrea
100
2,463
🇸🇸 South Sudan
99
6,874
🇮🇳 India
99
1,413,316
🇸🇩 Sudan
96
28,586
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
92
6,467
🇩🇯 Djibouti
91
805
🇧🇹 Bhutan
88
638
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
87
28,113
🇨🇻 Cape Verde
87
435
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste
85
828
🇳🇪 Niger
84
11,593
🇷🇼 Rwanda
83
7,122
🇾🇪 Yemen
83
16,525
🇶🇦 Qatar
82
1,733
🇳🇵 Nepal
82
22,008
🇨🇬 Congo, Republic of
81
2,727
🇬🇲 Gambia
79
1,196
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
36
1,918

Australia and New Zealand Lead

Australia and New Zealand have the world’s highest cancer incidence rates, largely driven by these countries’ intense UV exposure which results in more cases of melanoma.

Both countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, where summer sun is especially strong due to higher solar angles and thinner ozone layers. The Earth is also slightly closer to the sun during this time, though this plays a minor role compared to ozone conditions and lifestyle factors such as spending more time outdoors.

Melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer that develops from pigment-producing cells called melanocytes and is more likely to spread than other skin cancers. Its primary cause is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.

Lower Rates in Developing Countries

By contrast, many low- and middle-income countries have much lower reported cancer rates. For example, India (99), Sudan (96), and Niger (84) fall far below global leaders.

These lower figures may not always mean less cancer, but rather differences in detection and reporting.

Higher Rates in Wealthier Countries

There is good evidence that wealthier countries report higher cancer incidence rates, likely due to better detection and reporting methods.

For example, additional research from the WCRF has found a positive relationship between cancer rates and countries that score highly in the Human Development Index (HDI).

In short, developed countries generally report higher cancer rates, but this does not mean people in these countries are biologically more prone to cancer.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The $5.6T Pharmaceutical Industry in One Giant Chart on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.