12 Countries with the Highest Breast Cancer Rates in the World

Although this is a topic that most people don’t like to talk about, this list will bring you 12 countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world, and hopefully, raise the awareness of this cruel disease.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women in the developed world. On the other hand, although very rarely, males can also suffer from breast cancer. This type of cancer is manifested by the appearance of new cell formation in breasts, while tumor cells can be separated and reach the distant parts of the body, where they stop and begin further growth and reproduction, or create a new tumor through the blood or lymph. This process is known as metastasis, that is, metastatic breast cancer. The most common breast cancer metastasis affects the liver, lungs, bones, brain and lymph nodes. Breast cancer statistics worldwide are horrifying, and, according to the WHO breast cancer statistics, it has been estimated that over 508,000 women died in 2011 due to this illness. It has also been said that it is typical and equally dangerous for both women from developed countries, and those from less developed parts of the world.

While the list will deal with the countries at the top, it is also very important to know what country has the lowest cancer rates. According to our research about the countries with the lowest cancer rates in the world from 2015, it is Niger, where the number of age standardized patients in 100,000 is only 63.4. There are numerous statistics regarding breast cancer on the Internet, and some of the most useful ones are provided by the Globocan breast cancer statistics. According to them, 1.67 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2012, with 883,000 cases in less developed parts of the world and 794,000 in the developed regions. Regarding the range of mortality, there is data that it can range from 6 per 100,000 people in Eastern Asia to 20 per 100,000 people in Western Africa.

However, medical professionals and scientists strive to find the cure at least for some cancer types, and fortunately, there are many cases where they actually managed it. There are some hospitals worldwide that are famous for their successful treatments, so don’t miss the list of 10 best cancer hospitals in the world. Although there are many research centers that deal with not just breast cancer, but cancer in general, I wanted to find the most credible research and make my list according to it. Apparently, that is the research conducted by the World Cancer Research Fund International. At the beginning, I was confused that almost all of the articles are based on this 2012 research, wondering why there are no breast cancer statistics 2017, or for some more recent years. Eventually, I managed to discover an appropriate explanation for this, and it is quite simple actually. Since those who deal with the research want to have very credible and precise information, they collect the data for many years to do analyses. In most cases, they need to know about survival rates 5 years after a breast cancer diagnosis, so they need to wait for that period and then start to sort and analyze the data. So, even though the most recent data is from 2012, it only means the data was carefully collected, analyzed and prepared. If you are interested in the statistics on other types of cancer, you can check them out in our article on 11 Countries With the Highest Cancer Rates in the World from 2015.

Without further ado, let’s see those unfortunate countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world.

12. Germany

The age-standardized rate per 100,000 in Germany is 91.6, making it one of the leading countries in Europe when it comes to breast cancer. However, it is good to know that the number is decreasing, since in 2008 in Germany almost 72,000 women suffered from breast cancer, making it around 171.1 per 100,000, while the age-standardized rate was 123.8 per 100,000. Additionally, the number of women still alive after five years of breast cancer diagnosis is 279,045.

11. French Polynesia

Coming right after Germany on our list of countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world, the age-standardized rate in French Polynesia is 92.2 per 100,000. Unfortunately, World Cancer Research Fund International did not provide any additional info, and we can’t know what is the number of women who survived five years after their first diagnosis.

10. Ireland

There are many facts regarding breast cancer in Ireland, but to start with, the age-standardized rate for this country is 92.3 per 100,000, which is a slightly different situation from the previous one. Generally speaking, around 2,600 women are being diagnosed with breast cancer annually, and the number of those who don’t survive is around 660. On the other hand, the number of women alive after five years of diagnosis in Ireland is 11,926. Statistically, 1 in 10 women in Ireland will get breast cancer at some stage in their lives, most probably in their 50s.

9. The United States of America

According to WCRF, the age-standardized rate per 100,000 in the United States of America is 92.9. The number of women alive five years after diagnosis is 200,286. However, U.S. Breast Cancers statistics bring some more detailed information about this country, saying that it has been estimated that around 252, 710 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, with 63,410 new cases of non-invasive breast cancers.

8. Barbados

The age-standardized rate per 100,000 in Barbados is 94.7, and the number of women who survived five years after their first diagnosis is 754. However, the bad thing is that we cannot be very optimistic when it comes to Barbados since the annual mortality rate per 100,000 people from breast cancer in Barbados has increased by 29.9% since 1990. On average, it means that it increases by 1.3% every year.

7. United Kingdom

The age-standardized rate in the United Kingdom per 100,000 is 95.0, making it near the top of the countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world. Regarding the number of women who are still alive five years after diagnosis, it is 200,286, bringing it to the 8th place in that regard. However, according to the Cancer Research Center in the U.K., it has been estimated that the number is likely to rise to 210 cases per 100,000 females by 2035.

6. Iceland

The age-standardized rate for Iceland per 100,000 is 96.3, while the number of women who are still alive five years after diagnosis is 966, putting this country on the 10th place when it comes to this measure. However, the most interesting thing in this regard is that Iceland has something called the Icelandic Cancer Registry (ICR). This is the registry that has been in operation since 1954, and it contains all of the information on incidents and treatment of breast cancer from the last decades of the 19th century to today, being very useful when it comes to following the pace of this illness.

5. Bahamas

This country among the other countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world, has the age-standardized rate per 100,000 of 98.9, and the number of women who survived even five years after their first diagnosis is not presented in the WCRF report, being also very indicative. In short, that means the country is not among 20 countries with the biggest number of those who survived, and it probably does not have a very good performance in that regard.

4. The Netherlands

This country keeps the 4th place in both regards; when it comes to the age-standardized rate and regarding the number of women who survived five years after their first diagnosis. When it comes to the first one, that is, the age-standardized rate per 100,000, it is 99.0, while the number of women who survived is 57,493. However, this is still the country in which around 3,000 women die of breast cancer annually, and it has been estimated that 1 in 8 women is likely to suffer from it at a certain stage of her life.

3. France (metropolitan)

At number three on our list of countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world we have France. The age-standardized rate in France per 100,000 is 104.5, and the number of women who survived five years after their first diagnosis is 230,385. This type of cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in France, and unfortunately, there is also a slight increase in death rates from 80 percent to 87 percent in recent years.

2. Denmark

Denmark is the leading country when it comes to cancer in general, and according to the WCRF research, 338 people per 100,000 were diagnosed with cancer in 2012. On the other side, the age-standardized rate per 100,000 when it comes to breast cancer is 105.0. The number of women who survived five years after their first diagnosis is 20,714.

1. Belgium

We’ve come to the country that is first among the countries with the highest breast cancer rates in the world, and its age-standardized rate per 100,000 regarding breast cancer is 111.9. Similarly like in Iceland, breast cancer mortality has been monitored since 1954 in this country. It has been estimated that 1 in 7 women has a tendency to suffer from breast cancer, while the number of women who remained alive even five years after the first diagnosis is 41,418.