Who dies of pneumonia & flu?
In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 3.0% of men and 2.6% of women eventually die of pneumonia & flu. It is the most likely cause of death in 1 of their 1,152 country, sex and age groups.
The risk by age
Chance of dying of pneumonia & flu within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.
| Age | men | women |
|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | <0.01% (0.89% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 20–24 | <0.01% (1.1% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.7% of the risk) |
| 25–29 | 0.01% (1.5% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.7% of the risk) |
| 30–34 | 0.01% (1.3% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.5% of the risk) |
| 35–39 | 0.02% (1.3% of the risk) | 0.01% (1.3% of the risk) |
| 40–44 | 0.03% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.02% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 45–49 | 0.05% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.03% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 50–54 | 0.09% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.05% (1.3% of the risk) |
| 55–59 | 0.15% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.08% (1.3% of the risk) |
| 60–64 | 0.25% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.13% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 65–69 | 0.43% (1.9% of the risk) | 0.22% (1.6% of the risk) |
| 70–74 | 0.78% (2.4% of the risk) | 0.48% (2.1% of the risk) |
| 75–79 | 1.5% (2.9% of the risk) | 0.95% (2.3% of the risk) |
| 80–84 | 2.6% (3.5% of the risk) | 1.7% (2.8% of the risk) |
| 85–89 | 3.6% (4.0% of the risk) | 2.6% (3.2% of the risk) |
| 90–94 | 4.3% (4.5% of the risk) | 3.1% (3.4% of the risk) |
Where it's the most likely cause of death
- Women 25–29: Romania
Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries
Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries
What changes the odds
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 2.0 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
What you can do
- Get the flu vaccine every autumn, and the pneumonia vaccine when it's recommended for you.
- Don't smoke.
- Wash your hands often, and stay home when you're ill.
Act fast: Breathlessness, chest pain, a high fever, or new confusion in an older person: get urgent medical help.
Sources: WHO position paper on influenza vaccines (2022); ECDC vaccine scheduler; NHS: Pneumonia. General guidance, not medical advice.
Embed this on your site
Free to use with the link back. The image updates when the data does.
Related: COPD & chronic lung disease · Other lung disease
Questions
- At what age is pneumonia & flu most likely to be the cause of death?
- For men, pneumonia & flu takes its largest share of deaths at 90–94: 4.5% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
- Which country has the highest risk of dying of pneumonia & flu?
- Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, Türkiye has the highest lifetime chance of dying of pneumonia & flu for men (9.6%), and Finland the lowest (0.35%).
- What raises the risk of dying of pneumonia & flu?
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 2.0 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.