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Oesophageal cancer statistics

Oesophageal cancer is the 11th most common cancer worldwide. It is the 7th most common cancer in men and the 16th most common cancer in women.

Oesophagus

Latest oesophageal cancer data

There were 511,054 new cases of oesophageal cancer in 2022. The tables below give information about the countries with the highest rates, incidence and mortality from oesophageal cancer.

Oesophageal 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 oesophageal cancer incidence for both sexes combined.

Country New cases 2022 ASR
Malawi 1,871 17.9
Bangladesh 25,232 16.0
Mongolia 401 15.7
Uganda 2,438 13.2
Kenya 3,340 13.0

The following tables give the top 5 countries by ASR for oesophageal cancer incidence for men and women in 2022.

Country New cases in men ASR
Malawi 991 21.5
Bangladesh 16,578 20.6
Mongolia 220 19.7
Uganda 1,483 18.5
Tanzania 2,479 18.3
Country New cases in women ASR
Malawi 880 15.4
Mongolia 181 12.6
Kenya 1,724 12.2
Bangladesh 8,654 11.2
Zimbabwe 467 10.5

Oesophageal cancer incidence (cases)

China, India and Bangladesh had the highest number of oesophageal cancer cases in 2022.

The following 3 tables show the 10 countries with the highest oesophageal 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 511,054 5.0
1 China 224,012 8.3
2 India 70,637 5.0
3 Bangladesh 25,232 16.0
4 Japan 19,926 4.8
5 US 18,747 2.8
6 Brazil 10,985 3.7
7 UK 9,601 5.9
8 Russia 9,345 3.5
9 Pakistan 9,289 5.5
10 Germany 7,310 3.5
Rank Country New cases in men ASR/100,000
World 365,225 7.6
1 China 167,472 13.1
2 India 45,608 6.4
3 Bangladesh 16,578 20.6
4 Japan 16,658 7.8
5 US 14,757 4.7
6 Brazil 8,812 6.7
7 Russia 7,107 6.8
8 UK 6,504 8.8
9 Germany 5,621 5.7
10 Pakistan 4,776 5.7
Rank County New cases in women ASR/100,000
World 145,829 2.6
1 China 56,540 3.8
2 India 25,029 3.5
3 Bangladesh 8,654 11.2
4 Pakistan 4,513 5.3
5 Japan 4,268 2.3
6 US 3,990 1.1
7 UK 3,097 3.3
8 Russia 2,238 1.3
9 Brazil 2,173 1.3
10 Kenya 1,724 12.2

Oesophageal cancer deaths

China, India and Bangladesh had the highest number of deaths from oesophageal cancer in 2022.

The following 3 tables show the 10 countries with the highest number of oesophageal 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 Country Number ASR/100,000
World 445,391 4.3
1 China 187,467 6.7
2 India 66,410 4.7
3 Bangladesh 24,363 15.3
4 US 16,469 2.4
5 Japan 12,161 2.6
6 Brazil 10,393 3.5
7 Pakistan 8,704 5.2
8 UK 8,595 4.9
9 Russia 8,359 3.1
10 Germany 6,399 2.9
Rank Country Number in men ASR/100,000
World 318,433 6.5
1 China 140,390 10.7
2 India 43,082 6.1
3 Bangladesh 15,978 19.7
4 US 13,278 4.1
5 Japan 9,285 4.5
6 Brazil 8,317 6.3
7 Russia 6,461 6.1
8 UK 5,863 7.4
9 Germany 4,920 4.9
10 Pakistan 4,497 5.4
Rank Country Number in women ASR/100,000
World 126,958 2.2
1 China 47,077 2.9
2 India 23,328 3.3
3 Bangladesh 8,385 10.8
4 Pakistan 4,207 5.0
5 US 3,191 0.83
6 UK 2,732 2.6
7 Japan 2,336 0.89
8 Brazil 2,076 1.2
9 Russia 1,898 1.0
10 Kenya 1,621 11.5