15 Countries with the Highest Cancer Rates in the World in 2020

Cancer is a word we have all learned to fear, but unfortunately, the 15 countries with the highest cancer rates in the world in 2020 come across the condition at a much higher scale than the rest of the world.

In 2015 alone, 8.8 million people in the world gave their lives to cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 70% of these deaths occurred in low and middle-income nations, the less developed ones to be precise. While that is expected since patients in poor countries do not have access to cancer treatments as readily as patients in developed countries do, incidents of cancer are actually more common in more advanced countries. The thing to understand is that cancer rates by country and cancer death rates by country are completely different matters, and will yield entirely distinct results. The former phrase will provide you with a list of mostly European well-settled countries while the latter will present mostly African poverty-stricken states.

But the question is: why is that so? Why does Denmark have the highest cancer rate and why does Niger have the lowest cancer rate? ScienceDaily says that it all boils down to genetics and natural selection. To sum up the research simply, advanced methods of treatment have enabled several cancer-afflicted patients to go into complete remission and lead normal healthy lives. This, in turn, means that their genes will be passed on to future generations, causing the probability of their descendants contracting cancer to increase tenfold. In underdeveloped countries, on the other hand, natural selection is still at play. A dangerous disease will in most likely cause death, meaning the deceased will not be able to reproduce.

Now that you know what to expect from this list let’s get on to the actual topic. To compile countries with the highest cancer rates, we referred to the World Cancer Research Fund, where cancer frequency of each country has been enumerated. The data here is from the year 2012, and unfortunately, no further research has been conducted on the topic. Any other articles on this subject have also been formulated using the statistics from the same source. However, the list is not likely to change much because of the theory of “better” countries getting more cancer. If you were to research on the other end of the spectrum, i.e., find out what country has the lowest cancer rate or get a list of lowest cancer rates by state (which you can do through our piece on countries with the lowest cancer rates in the world in 2020), you will see that the theory is actually quite substantial.

15. Germany

Cancer rate per 100,000: 313.1

One microcensus shows about one in four people older than 15 smoke in Germany. Smoking laws change from state to state, though one federal smoking law bans smoking in federal buildings, passenger stations of public railways and public transportation.

14. South Korea

Cancer rate per 100,000: 313.5

South Korea stands out starkly from the rest of the pack due to the fact that it is the only Asian country on our list of countries with the highest cancer rates in the world in 2020, which otherwise almost completely contains European and American constituents.

13. The United Kingdom

Cancer rate per 100,000: 319.2

In 1962, over 80% of men and over 40% of women in the UK smoked. Five years ago, the percentage of UK residents smoking was just 15%. Smoking has been criticized as being a strain on the NHS, the nation’s health system. One cancer research group says that smoking is single greatest cause of preventable illness and early death in the UK.

12. New Caledonia (France)

Cancer rate per 100,000: 324.2

While New Caledonia is technically a part of France, being a special collectivity of France, we have taken it as a separate entry due to it being in a completely different area of the world than France, in the southwestern region of the Pacific Ocean to be exact (close to Australia). Nonetheless, New Caledonia’s cancer rates are actually much better than France’s.

11. Canada

Cancer rate per 100,000: 334

Canada is often praised for its efficient healthcare system, but the country is definitely not lucky on the cancer front with 295.7 people out of every 100,000 battling cancer.

10. The Netherlands

Cancer rate per 100,000: 334.1

The Netherlands, another country that people dream to vacation in, holds the 9th spot on our list of countries with the highest cancer rates in the world in 2020.

9. Norway

Cancer rate per 100,000: 337.8

Norway and the US go almost neck and neck when it comes to cancer rates. Unfortunately for the former though, Norway is a little further ahead.

8. Denmark

Cancer rate per 100,000: 340.4

Denmark is often titled the cancer capital of the world and rightly so as it’s far ahead of any other country in terms of cancer frequency. Unfortunately for the nation, that means that this country is the answer to the question what country has the highest cancer rate.

7. France (Metropolitan)

Cancer rate per 100,000: 344.1

The country with the second highest cancer rate in the world is none other than France; a nation often referred to as the country of love due to its romantic setting.

6. Belgium

Cancer rate per 100,000: 345.8

While the risk of death from cancer keeps decreasing in Belgium, the risk of a cancer diagnosis keeps increasing with 12,000 more cases expected in 2025 compared to 2013.

5. United States of America

Cancer rate per 100,000: 352.2

Cancer is certainly not uncommon in America, making it one of the countries with the highest cancer rates in the world in 2020.

4. Hungary

Cancer rate per 100,000: 368.1

Hungary’s cancer problem might be attributed to their particular rate of lung cancer, which is the highest in the EU. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 30% of the population of people older than 15 smoke.

3. Ireland

Cancer rate per 100,000: 373.7

Ireland’s huge cancer rate can be translated into the fact that 1 in 4 deaths in the nation are caused by cancer: very unsettling odds indeed.

2. New Zealand

Cancer rate per 100,000: 438.1

Snuggled up in the southwestern region of the globe, New Zealand comes in at number 13. It is not the only country from Oceania to have widespread cancer though. Its somewhat distant neighbor, Australia, will soon make an appearance with an even higher cancer rate.

1. Australia

Cancer rate per 100,000: 468

Home to kangaroos, great culinary artists and breathtaking beaches, Australia regrettably suffers from extremely high cancer rates.

This wraps it up for our list of countries with the highest cancer rates in the world in 2020