Stomach cancer is the 5th most common cancer worldwide.
Stomach cancer is the 5th most common cancer worldwide. It is the 4th most common cancer in men and the 7th most common cancer in women. There were more than 1 million new cases of stomach cancer in 2020.
The 10 countries with the highest rates of stomach cancer and the highest number of deaths from stomach cancer in 2020 are shown in the tables below.
ASR = age-standardised rates. These are a summary measure of the rate of disease that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardisation is necessary when comparing populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of dying from cancer.
The following 3 tables show total global stomach cancer incidence and rates in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Mongolia had the highest overall rate of stomach cancer in 2020, followed by Japan.
Rank | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 1,089,103 | 11.1 | |
1 | Mongolia | 860 | 32.5 |
2 | Japan | 138,470 | 31.6 |
3 | South Korea | 28,713 | 27.9 |
4 | Tajikistan | 1,301 | 23.4 |
5 | China | 478,508 | 20.6 |
6 | Kyrgyzstan | 1,027 | 19.7 |
7 | Cabo Verde | 82 | 18.4 |
8 | Bhutan | 118 | 17.7 |
9 | Iran | 14,656 | 17.5 |
10 | Kazakhstan | 3,357 | 15.8 |
Rank (men) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 719,523 | 15.8 | |
1 | Japan | 94,950 | 48.1 |
2 | Mongolia | 564 | 47.2 |
3 | South Korea | 19,066 | 39.7 |
4 | Kyrgyzstan | 690 | 31.3 |
5 | Cabo Verde | 52 | 29.6 |
6 | China | 331,629 | 29.5 |
7 | Tajikistan | 744 | 28.7 |
8 | Kazakhstan | 2,125 | 24.6 |
9 | Belarus | 1,640 | 24.0 |
10 | North Korea | 3,428 | 22.9 |
Rank (women) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 369,580 | 7.0 | |
1 | Mongolia | 296 | 20.7 |
2 | Tajikistan | 557 | 18.7 |
3 | South Korea | 9,647 | 17.6 |
4 | Japan | 43,520 | 17.3 |
5 | Peru | 2,968 | 13.6 |
6 | Iran | 5,057 | 12.5 |
7 | Bhutan | 39 | 12.5 |
8 | China | 146,879 | 12.3 |
9 | Guatemala | 845 | 11.3 |
10 | Kyrgyzstan | 337 | 11.1 |
The following 3 tables show total global stomach cancer mortality in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Mongolia had the highest overall mortality rate from stomach cancer in 2020, followed by Tajikistan.
Rank | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 768,793 | 7.7 | |
1 | Mongolia | 633 | 24.6 |
2 | Tajikistan | 1,092 | 19.7 |
3 | China | 373,789 | 15.9 |
4 | Bhutan | 105 | 15.9 |
5 | Kyrgyzstan | 810 | 15.7 |
6 | Iran | 12,994 | 15.5 |
7 | Cabo Verde | 66 | 14.8 |
8 | Viet Nam | 14,615 | 12.6 |
9 | Myanmar | 6,276 | 12.0 |
10 | North Korea | 4,346 | 11.9 |
Rank (men) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 502,788 | 11.0 | |
1 | Mongolia | 420 | 36.5 |
2 | Kyrgyzstan | 565 | 26.2 |
3 | Cabo Verde | 43 | 25.5 |
4 | Tajikistan | 636 | 24.7 |
5 | China | 256,512 | 22.8 |
6 | Bhutan | 72 | 20.4 |
7 | Iran | 8,534 | 19.9 |
8 | North Korea | 2,776 | 18.6 |
9 | Kazakhstan | 1,577 | 18.4 |
10 | Vietnam | 9,003 | 17.8 |
Rank (women) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 266,005 | 4.9 | |
1 | Tajikistan | 456 | 15.4 |
2 | Mongolia | 213 | 15.2 |
3 | Iran | 4,460 | 11.0 |
4 | Bhutan | 33 | 10.6 |
5 | Peru | 2,314 | 10.3 |
6 | Mali | 464 | 10.0 |
7 | China | 117,277 | 9.5 |
8 | Guatemala | 717 | 9.5 |
9 | Myanmar | 2,747 | 9.2 |
10 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 5 | 8.6 |
There is evidence that the following are associated with an increased risk of stomach cancer: smoking, helicobacter pylori infection and industrial chemical exposure.
There is also strong evidence that:
There is some evidence that:
> Read more about what can cause and what can protect against stomach cancer
The data on this page comes from the Global Cancer Observatory, owned by the World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer, and is used with permission. The cancer incidence figures and ASRs were compiled using the data available here (last accessed 23 March 2022). For queries about our cancer statistics please email the Research Interpretation team: ri@wcrf.org.