On this page you can find age-standardised rates for all cancers (including non-melanoma skin cancer) ordered by the countries with the 50 highest rates.

The age-standardised rate for all cancers (including non-melanoma skin cancer) for men and women combined was 197.9 per 100,000 in 2018. The rate was higher for men (218.6 per 100,000) than women (182.6 per 100,000).

With the burden growing in almost every country, prevention of cancer is one of the most significant public health challenges of the 21st century. Around 40% of cancer cases could be prevented by reducing exposure to cancer risk factors including diet, nutrition and physical activity – for more information see our Cancer Prevention Recommendations or read our blog.

Reducing the cancer burden requires concerted and integrated action from all sectors of society, including civil society, private sector, and health and other professions. You can read what policy actions different countries are taking to promote healthier diets in our NOURISHING framework and accompanying database.

Age-standardised rates are used in the tables. This is 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 dying from cancer.

Global cancer rates: both sexes

The highest cancer rate for men and women together was in Australia, at 468.0 people per 100,000.

The age-standardised rate was at least 320 per 100,000 for 12 countries: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Hungary, the US, Belgium, France (metropolitan), Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada and New Caledonia (France).

The countries in the top 12 come from Oceania, Europe and North America.

Rank Country Age-standardised rate per 100,000 1 Australia 468.0 2 New Zealand 438.1 3 Ireland 373.7 4 Hungary 368.1 5 US 352.2 6 Belgium 345.8 7 France (metropolitan) 344.1 8 Denmark 340.4 9 Norway 337.8 10 Netherlands 334.1 11 Canada 334.0 12 New Caledonia (France) 324.2 13 UK 319.2 14 South Korea 313.5 15 Germany 313.1 16 Switzerland 311.0 17 Luxembourg 309.3 18 Serbia 307.9 19 Slovenia 304.9 20 Latvia 302.2 21 Slovakia 297.5 22 Czech Republic 296.7 23 Sweden 294.7 24 Italy 290.6 25 Croatia 287.2 26 Lithuania 285.8 27 Estonia 283.3 28 Greece 279.8 29 Spain 272.3 30 Finland 266.2 31 Uruguay 263.4 32 Belarus 260.7 33 Portugal 259.5 34 Iceland 257.8 35 Guadelopue (France) 254.6 36 Puerto Rico 254.5 37 Moldova 254.3 38 Poland 253.8 39 Cyprus 250.8 40 Martinique (France) 250.8 41 Malta 249.4 42 Singapore 248.9 43 Japan 248.0 44 Austria 247.7 45 Barbados 247.5 46 French Guiana 247.0 47 Bulgaria 242.8 48 Lebanon 242.8 49 French Polynesia 240.6 50 Israel 233.6

Cancer rates in men

The highest cancer rate was found in Australia at 579.9 men per 100,000.

The age-standardised rate was at least 360 per 100,000 in 15 countries: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Hungary, France (metropolitan), the US, Latvia, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia, Estonia, Slovakia, Denmark, New Caledonia (France) and the Netherlands.

The countries in the top ten come from Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

Rank Country Age-standardised rate per 100,000 1 Australia 579.9 2 New Zealand 526.0 3 Ireland 430.8 4 Hungary 427.1 5 France (metropolitan) 405.6 6 US 393.2 7 Latvia 375.7 8 Belgium 371.1 9 Norway 369.8 10 Slovenia 367.6 11 Estonia 364.5 12 Slovakia 363.2 13 Denmark 360.4 14 New Caledonia (France) 357.1 15 Netherlands 355.1 16 Czech Republic 348.8 17 Lithuania 347.2 18 Germany 345.9 19 UK 344.7 20 Switzerland 343.6 21 Canada 343.3 22 Guadeloupe (France) 342.9 23 Serbia 339.3 24 Croatia 338.7 25 Luxembourg 335.0 26 South Korea 332.1 27 Greece 331.9 28 Spain 328.6 29 Belarus 322.4 30 Italy 318.8 31 Uruguay 317.6 32 Sweden 313.4 33 Portugal 312.1 34 Moldova 310.5 35 Martinique (France) 308.9 36 French Guiana 296.6 37 Poland 292.5 38 Bulgaria 289.2 39 Barbados 287.6 40 Japan 285.9 41 Turkey 284.2 42 Finland 281.7 43 Singapore 280.2 44 Puerto Rico 280.1 45 Cyprus 277.2 46 Austria 273.5 47 French Polynesia 272.2 48 Mongolia 271.8 49 Romania 264.7 50 Malta 261.1

Cancer rates in women

The highest cancer rate was found in Australia at 363.0 women per 100,000.

The age-standardised rate was at least 300 per 100,000 in 11 countries (Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the US, the Netherlands, Norway and South Korea).

The countries in the top ten come from Europe, Oceania and the Americas.