SEOUL, Sept 28 (NNN-YONHAP) – Cancer remained the top cause of death in South Korea in 2020, continuing to rank first since relevant data began to be compiled in 1983, statistical office data showed today.
Cancer caused 160.1 deaths per 100,000 people here in 2020, up 1.2 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.
The death rate from lung cancer was 36.4 per 100,000, logging the highest among the cancer-caused deaths.
It was followed by liver cancer with 20.6, colorectal cancer with 17.4, gastric cancer with 14.6, and pancreatic cancer with 13.2.
The second-highest cause of death in South Korea was cardiac disorder, which caused 63.0 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020. The third-highest was pneumonia with the death rate of 43.3 per 100,000.
The top three causes of death accounted for 44.9 percent of the total deaths in 2020 in South Korea. It was down 1.0 percentage point from the previous year.
On the top 10 list of causes of death were also cerebrovascular disease with 42.6 deaths per 100,000, diabetes with 16.5, Alzheimer’s disease with 14.7, liver disease with 13.6, hypertensive disorder with 11.9 and blood poisoning also with 11.9.
Suicide ranked fifth with the death rate of 25.7 per 100,000 in 2020. It was down from 26.9 tallied in the previous year, but suicide was the first killer among teens and those in their 20s and 30s last year.– NNN-YONHAP
