NOTES:

Over 90% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the world's registered vehicles.

Almost half of those who die in road traffic crashes are pedestrians, cyclists or users of motorized two-wheelers, collectively known as "vulnerable road users".

WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030.

	TOTAL 2004

RANK       LEADING CAUSE 	                  %
1      Ischaemic heart disease                     12.2
2      Cerebrovascular disease                       9.7
3      Lower respiratory infections                   7.0
4      Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease   5.1
5      Diarrhoeal diseases                              3.6
6      HIV/AIDS                                             3.5
7      Tuberculosis                                         2.5
8      Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers            2.3
9      Road traffic injuries                                2.2
10     Prematurity and low birth weight            2.0
11     Neonatal infections and other                1.9
12     Diabetes mellitus                                 1.9
13     Malaria                                                1.7
14     Hypertensive heart disease                   1.7
15     Birth asphyxia and birth trauma             1.5
16     Self-inflicted injuries                              1.4
17     Stomach cancer                                   1.4
18     Cirrhosis of the liver                               1.3
19     Nephritis and nephrosis                         1.3
20     Colon and rectum cancers                     1.1

	TOTAL 2030

RANK       LEADING CAUSE 	                      %
1      Ischaemic heart disease                         12.2
2      Cerebrovascular disease                           9.7
3      Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease      7.0
4      Lower respiratory infections                      5.1
5      Road traffic injuries                                  3.6
6      Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers              3.5
7      Diabetes mellitus                                     2.5
8      Hypertensive heart disease                       2.3
9      Stomach cancer                                      2.2
10     HIV/AIDS                                               2.0
11     Nephritis and nephrosis                           1.9
12     Self-inflicted injuries                                1.9
13     Liver cancer                                            1.7
14     Colon and rectum cancer                         1.7
15     Oesophagus cancer                                1.5
16     Violence                                                 1.4
17     Alzheimer and other dementias                1.4
18     Cirrhosis of the liver                                 1.3
19     Breast cancer                                         1.3
20     Tuberculosis                                           1.1

Over 90% of the fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world's vehicle.

NOTE: The table on this page is re-published from data provided by the World Health Organization. No claims are made regarding the traffic death data contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about the road traffic deaths country rankings should be addressed to the WHO.