Mouth and oral cancer statistics
Mouth and oral cancer is the 16th most common cancer worldwide. It is the 12th most common cancer in men and the 18th most common cancer in women.
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Latest mouth and oral cancer data
There were 389,846 new cases of mouth and oral cancer in 2022. The tables below give information about the countries with the highest rates, incidence and mortality from mouth and oral cancer – referred to as lip and oral cavity cancer in GLOBOCAN.
Mouth and oral cancer age-standardised rates
Age-standardised rates (ASR) 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.
The following table gives the top 5 countries by ASR for mouth and oral cancer incidence for both sexes combined.
| Country | New cases 2022 | ASR |
|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | 1,152 | 17.5 |
| Bangladesh | 16,083 | 10.3 |
| India | 143,759 | 9.9 |
| Pakistan | 15,915 | 9.2 |
| Sri Lanka | 2,556 | 8.1 |
The following tables give the top 5 countries by ASR for mouth and oral cancer incidence for men and women in 2022.
| Country | New cases in men | ASR |
|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | 713 | 22.6 |
| India | 107,812 | 14.7 |
| Sri Lanka | 1,990 | 14.0 |
| Bangladesh | 10,785 | 13.6 |
| Pakistan | 10,745 | 12.1 |
| Country | New cases in women | ASR |
|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | 439 | 12.8 |
| Bangladesh | 5,298 | 6.9 |
| Pakistan | 5,170 | 6.2 |
| India | 35,947 | 5.0 |
| Namibia | 42 | 4.3 |
Mouth and oral cancer incidence (cases)
India, China and the US had the highest number of mouth and oral cancer cases in 2022.
The following 3 tables show the 10 countries with the highest mouth and oral cancer incidence in 2022 – 1st for both sexes, then men and women separately. We have also included the ASRs for each of these countries.
| Rank | Country | New cases | ASR/100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 389,846 | 4.0 | |
| 1 | India | 143,759 | 9,9 |
| 2 | China | 37,208 | 1.5 |
| 3 | US | 27,750 | 4.6 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 16,083 | 10.3 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 15,915 | 9.2 |
| 6 | Japan | 11,088 | 3.1 |
| 7 | Brazil | 11,029 | 3.8 |
| 8 | Russia | 9,729 | 3.9 |
| 9 | France (metropolitan) | 7,195 | 5.6 |
| 10 | Indonesia | 6,515 | 2.2 |
| Rank | Country | New cases in men | ASR/100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 268,999 | 5.8 | |
| 1 | India | 107,812 | 14.7 |
| 2 | China | 24,169 | 2.0 |
| 3 | US | 18,901 | 6.6 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 10,785 | 12.1 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 10,745 | 12.1 |
| 6 | Brazil | 8,269 | 6.3 |
| 7 | Russia | 6,596 | 6.5 |
| 8 | Japan | 6,545 | 4.3 |
| 9 | France (metropolitan) | 4,737 | 8.3q |
| 10 | Indonesia | 4,010 | 2.9 |
| Rank | Country | New cases in women | ASR/100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 120,847 | 2.3 | |
| 1 | India | 35,947 | 5.0 |
| 2 | China | 13,039 | 1.0 |
| 3 | US | 8,669 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 5,298 | 6.9 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 5,170 | 6.2 |
| 6 | Japan | 4,543 | 1.9 |
| 7 | Russia | 3,133 | 2.0 |
| 8 | Brazil | 2,760 | 1.6 |
| 9 | Indonesia | 2,505 | 1.6 |
| 10 | France (metropolitan) | 2,458 | 3.1 |
Mouth and oral cancer deaths
India, China and Pakistan had the highest number of deaths from mouth and oral cancer in 2022.
The following 3 tables show the 10 countries with the highest number of mouth and oral cancer deaths in 2022 – 1st for both sexes, then men and women separately. We have also included the ASRs for each of these countries.
| Rank | World | Number | ASR/100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 188,438 | 1.9 | |
| 1 | India | 79,979 | 5.6 |
| 2 | China | 20,831 | 0.78 |
| 3 | Pakistan | 10,181 | 5.9 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 9,447 | 6.1 |
| 5 | Russia | 5,398 | 2.2 |
| 6 | Brazil | 4,700 | 1.6 |
| 7 | US | 4,155 | 0.60 |
| 8 | Japan | 3,846 | 0.69 |
| 9 | Indonesia | 3,546 | 1.2 |
| 10 | Thailand | 2,418 | 1.8 |
| Rank | World | Number in men | ASR/100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 130,808 | 2.8 | |
| 1 | India | 59,656 | 8.2 |
| 2 | China | 14,044 | 1.1 |
| 3 | Pakistan | 6,816 | 7.7 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 6,329 | 8.1 |
| 5 | Russia | 3,971 | 3.9 |
| 6 | Brazil | 3,531 | 2.7 |
| 7 | US | 2,650 | 0.86 |
| 8 | Indonesia | 2,315 | 1.7 |
| 9 | Japan | 1,888 | 0.91 |
| 10 | Germany | 1,528 | 1.6 |
| Rank | Country | Number in women | ASR/100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 57,630 | 1.1 | |
| 1 | India | 20,323 | 2.9 |
| 2 | China | 6,787 | 0.45 |
| 3 | Pakistan | 3.365 | 4.1 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 3,118 | 4.1 |
| 5 | Japan | 1,958 | 0.47 |
| 6 | US | 1,505 | 0.37 |
| 7 | Russia | 1,427 | 0.90 |
| 8 | Indonesia | 1,231 | 0.79 |
| 9 | Thailand | 1,176 | 1.5 |
| 10 | Brazil | 1,169 | 0.64 |
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