Europe’s Top Causes of Death, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Circulatory diseases—such as heart attacks and strokes—are the most common causes of death in the EU, claiming 1.7 million lives, or 33% of all deaths, in 2022.
• Cancer was the second most common cause, at 1.2 million (23% of deaths in 2022)
• Coronary heart disease (which causes heart attacks) and lung cancer (the most common form of cancer) are two of the most preventable causes of death in the EU.