Lung cancer statistics

Lung cancer is the 2nd most common cancer worldwide.

Latest lung cancer data

Lung cancer is the 2nd most common cancer worldwide. It is the most common cancer in men and the 2nd most common cancer in women.

There were more than 2.2 million new cases of lung cancer in 2020.

The 10 countries with the highest rates of lung cancer and the highest number of deaths from lung 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.

Lung cancer rates

The following 3 tables show total global cancer incidence and rates in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Hungary had the highest overall rate of lung cancer in 2020, followed by Serbia.

RankCountryNumberASR/100,000
World2,206,77122.4
1Hungary10,27450.1
2Serbia8,04847.3
3France, New Caledonia16642.9
4French Polynesia14440.4
5Turkey41,26440.0
6Montenegro44339.7
7Belgium9,64638.3
8Bosnia and Herzegovina2,51337.8
9North Korea13,67237.0
10Denmark5,04736.8
Rank (men)CountryNumberASR/100,000
World1,435,94331.5
1Turkey34,20774.8
2Serbia5,40968.0
3Hungary5,81266.6
4Bosnia and Herzegovina1,98464.7
5Montenegro31861.2
6France, New Caledonia11059.9
7Armenia1,10156.8
8Greece6,78656.3
9French Polynesia10055.3
10Slovakia2,53154.3
Rank (women)CountryNumberASR/100,000
World770,82814.6
1Hungary4,46238.1
2Denmark2,64836.8
3The Netherlands6,45033.5
4Ireland1,62832.9
5US111,54030.4
6UK25,04029.9
7Serbia2,63929.8
8Iceland10729.6
9North Korea6,47028.7
10Brunei5628.0

Lung cancer deaths

The following 3 tables show total global lung cancer mortality in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Hungary had the highest overall mortality rate from lung cancer in 2020, followed by Serbia.

RankCountryNumberASR/100,000
World1,796,14418.0
1Hungary8,92042.4
2Serbia7,08440.0
3French Polynesia12936.0
4Turkey37,07035.9
5Guam8635.1
6Poland27,44432.8
7Bosnia and Herzegovina2,24032.1
8Montenegro37031.6
9France, New Caledonia12431.4
10Croatia2,98430.9
Rank (men)CountryNumberASR/100,000
World1,188,67925.9
1Turkey30,74967.5
2Serbia4,89259.6
3Hungary5,20058.6
4Bosnia and Herzegovina1,77355.8
5Armenia1,02652.4
6Guam5649.7
7Croatia2,12249.4
8Montenegro26549.3
9French Polynesia8848.5
10Poland17,46148.4
Rank (women)CountryNumberASR/100,000
World607,46511.2
1Hungary3,72030.6
2Denmark1,89525.2
3Serbia2,19223.6
4The Netherlands4,86422.9
5Guam3022.8
6North Korea5,29422.6
7French Polynesia4122.6
8Canada10,45521.2
9Poland9,98321.2
10Brunei4020.6

What causes lung cancer?

Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. There is evidence that the following are also associated with an increased risk of lung cancer: previous lung disease, occupational exposure and indoor air pollution.

There is also strong evidence that:

There is some evidence that:

  • consuming red meat, processed meat and alcoholic drinks might increase the risk of lung cancer
  • in current smokers and former smokers, consuming vegetables and fruit might decrease the risk of lung cancer
  • consuming foods containing retinol, beta-carotene or carotenoids might decrease the risk of lung cancer
  • in current smokers, consuming foods containing vitamin C might decrease the risk of lung cancer
  • in people who have never smoked, consuming foods containing isoflavones (constituent of plants with oestrogen-like properties) might decrease the risk of lung cancer
  • being physically active might decrease the risk of lung cancer

> Read more about what can cause and what can protect against lung cancer

Notes

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.