Global breast cancer statistics
Breast cancer is the 2nd most common cancer worldwide
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Latest breast cancer data
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women around the world. In 2022, there were around 2.3 million new cases in women, according to data from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) owned by the World Health Organisation/International Agency for Research on Cancer. While this data doesn’t include worldwide numbers for men with breast cancer, some countries do track and report these cases separately.
The tables below give information about the countries with the highest incidence (cases) and mortality (deaths) from breast cancer in women.
Top 10 countries by breast cancer incidence (cases)
The following table shows the 10 countries with the highest number of breast cancer cases in women in 2022.
In the tables, we also include age-standardised rates (ASR). ASRs 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 developing/dying from cancer. It is important to note that some countries have a high ASR but a low total number of cases, while other have a low ASR but a high number of cases. This is because ASRs are reported per 100,000 people. So, for example, an ASR of 10 in a population of 100,000 = 10 cases of cancer, but an ASR of 1 in a population of 10 million = 100 cases.
To learn how ASR is calculated, find out more from IARC: https://gco.iarc.fr/overtime/en/about
| Rank | Country | New cases in women (2022) | ASR (per 100,000 people) |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 2,296,840 | 46.8 | |
| 1 | China | 357,161 | 33.0 |
| 2 | US | 274,375 | 95.9 |
| 3 | India | 192,020 | 26.6 |
| 4 | Brazil | 94,728 | 63.1 |
| 5 | Japan | 91,916 | 74.4 |
| 6 | Russia | 78,839 | 57.7 |
| 7 | Germany | 74,016 | 77.0 |
| 8 | Indonesia | 66,271 | 41.8 |
| 9 | France (metropolitan) | 65,659 | 105.4 |
| 10 | UK | 58,756 | 94.0 |
The table below shows the five countries with the highest breast cancer incidence in women in 2022, ordered by ASR.
| Country | New cases (2022) | ASR (per 100,000 people) |
|---|---|---|
| France (metropolitan) | 65,659 | 105.4 |
| Cyprus | 1,020 | 104.8 |
| Belgium | 11,255 | 104.4 |
| Netherlands | 15,919 | 101.6 |
| Australia | 21,931 | 101.5 |
Breast cancer mortality (deaths)
The following table shows the 10 countries with the highest number of breast cancer deaths among women in 2022. We have also included the ASRs for each of these countries.
| Rank | Country | Number of deaths (2022) | ASR (per 100,000 people) |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 666,103 | 12.7 | |
| 1 | India | 98,337 | 13.7 |
| 2 | China | 74,986 | 6.1 |
| 3 | US | 42,900 | 12.2 |
| 4 | Indonesia | 22,598 | 14.4 |
| 5 | Brazil | 22,189 | 13.9 |
| 6 | Russia | 22,115 | 13.6 |
| 7 | Germany | 20,601 | 15.8 |
| 8 | Japan | 17,638 | 9.7 |
| 9 | Nigeria | 16,332 | 26.8 |
| 10 | Pakistan | 15,552 | 18.6 |
The table below shows the five countries with the highest breast cancer mortality in women in 2022, ordered by ASR.
| Country | Number of deaths (2022) | ASR (per 100,000 people) |
|---|---|---|
| Fiji | 182 | 38.9 |
| Jamaica | 684 | 35.2 |
| Bahamas | 87 | 31.7 |
| Barbados | 88 | 29.8 |
| Samoa | 24 | 28.1 |
More breast cancer information for you
- What is breast cancer
- Signs and symptoms of breast cancer
- Breast cancer causes
- Breast cancer prevention
- Living with and beyond breast cancer
References
The data on this page comes from the Global Cancer Observatory, owned by the World Health Organisation/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 May 2024). For queries about our cancer statistics please email the Research Interpretation team: ri@wcrf.org.
