Geneva: Global life expectancy has recovered to almost its pre-pandemic level, but the World Health Organization’s latest estimates show that chronic diseases are accounting for an increasingly large share of deaths worldwide.

The WHO’s new Global Health Estimates, released on October 2, examine changes in life expectancy, causes of death and disease burden across countries and regions from 2000 through 2023.

According to the estimates, global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, compared with 73.4 years in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health systems around the world. However, healthy life expectancy recovered more slowly, reaching 62.8 years in 2023—still 0.4 years below the 2019 level.

The data also show a major long-term shift in the causes of death. Noncommunicable diseases accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2023, compared with 58% in 2000. Eight of the world’s ten leading causes of death were noncommunicable diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases remain a major contributor to the global disease burden. Ischaemic heart disease was the world’s leading cause of death in 2023, responsible for approximately 9.5 million deaths and around 210 million disability-adjusted life years. Stroke caused about 6.8 million deaths, while chronic obstructive pulmonary disease accounted for approximately 3.6 million.

The estimates also highlight the growing impact of dementia. Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia became the fifth leading cause of death globally in 2023, compared with 19th in 2000. Global deaths attributed to dementia tripled during that period.

Diabetes has also become an increasingly important health challenge. The WHO estimates that diabetes caused around 2 million deaths in 2023, more than twice the number recorded in 2000. The risk of dying from diabetes increased substantially in several regions, including South-East Asia.

Mental health conditions are another growing component of the global disease burden. Between 2019 and 2023, the global age-standardized rate of healthy life lost increased by approximately 20% for depressive disorders and nearly 45% for anxiety disorders. Together, these conditions accounted for an estimated 110 million years of healthy life lost in 2023.

The latest figures also show that health transitions are occurring across different income groups. In 2023, communicable diseases accounted for less than half of all deaths in low-income countries for the first time, although infectious diseases continue to represent a major health burden in many poorer countries.

COVID-19, meanwhile, fell out of the world’s ten leading causes of death in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic began. WHO estimates that the disease directly caused around 900,000 deaths in 2023, compared with substantially higher mortality during the peak pandemic years.

The WHO says the estimates are intended to help governments and health organisations identify changing disease patterns and improve health-policy planning. The data cover more than two decades and allow countries to examine how mortality and disease burdens have changed over time.

The latest WHO assessment points to a major transition in global health: the world has largely recovered the life expectancy lost during the pandemic, but longer lives are increasingly accompanied by chronic disease, mental-health challenges and age-related conditions. The next global health challenge will therefore be not simply extending lifespan, but ensuring that a greater proportion of those additional years are lived in good health.