Data for Cancer Distribution and Age-standardized Rate by Country
Age-standardized rate for all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) ordered by the countries with the 50 highest rates
The age-standardized rate for all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) for men and women combined was 182 per 100,000 in 2012. The rate was higher for men (205 per 100,000) than women (165 per 100,000).
Both sexes
- The highest cancer rate for men and women together was found in Denmark with 338 people per 100,000 being diagnosed in 2012.
- The age-standardized rate was at least 300 per 100,000 for nine countries (Denmark, France, Australia, Belgium, Norway, US, Ireland, South Korea and the Netherlands).
- The countries in the top ten come from Europe, Oceania, Northern America and Asia.
Rank |
Country |
Age-standardized rate per 100,000 (world) |
| 1 | Denmark | 338.1 |
| 2 | France (metropolitan) | 324.6 |
| 3 | Australia | 323.0 |
| 4 | Belgium | 321.1 |
| 5 | Norway | 318.3 |
| 6 | US | 318.0 |
| 7 | Ireland | 307.9 |
| 8 | South Korea | 307.8 |
| 9 | The Netherlands | 304.8 |
| 10 | New Caledonia | 297.9 |
| 11 | Slovenia | 296.3 |
| 12 | Canada | 295.7 |
| 13 | New Zealand | 295.0 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 293.8 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 287.0 |
| 16 | Hungary | 285.4 |
| 17 | Iceland | 284.3 |
| 18 | Germany | 283.8 |
| 19 | Israel | 283.2 |
| 20 | Luxembourg | 280.3 |
| 21 | Italy | 278.6 |
| 22 | Slovakia | 276.9 |
| 23 | UK | 272.9 |
| 24 | Sweden | 270.0 |
| 25 | Serbia | 269.7 |
| 26 | Croatia | 266.9 |
| 27 | Barbados | 263.1 |
| 28 | Armenia | 257.0 |
| 29 | Finland | 256.8 |
| 30 | French Polynesia | 255.0 |
| 31 | Austria | 254.1 |
| 32 | Lithuania | 251.9 |
| 33 | Uruguay | 251.0 |
| 34 | Spain | 249.0 |
| 35 | Latvia | 246.8 |
| 36 | Portugal | 246.2 |
| 37 | France, Martinique | 245.0 |
| 38 | Malta | 242.9 |
| 39 | Estonia | 242.8 |
| 40 | Macedonia | 239.3 |
| 41 | Montenegro | 238.3 |
| 42 | Kazakhstan | 236.5 |
| 43 | Bulgaria | 234.8 |
| 44 | Poland | 229.6 |
| 45 | Romania | 224.2 |
| 46 | Belarus | 218.7 |
| 47 | Cuba | 218.0 |
| 48 | Japan | 217.1 |
| 49 | Argentina | 216.7 |
| 50 | Puerto Rico | 211.1 |
Men
- The highest cancer rate was found in France with 385 men per 100,000 being diagnosed in 2012.
- The age-standardized rate was at least 350 per 100,000 in eight countries (France, Australia, Norway, Belgium, Martinique, Slovenia, Hungary and Denmark).
- The countries in the top ten come from Europe, Oceania and the Americas.
Rank |
Country |
Age-standardised rate per 100,000 (world) |
| 1 | France (metropolitan) | 385.3 |
| 2 | Australia | 373.9 |
| 3 | Norway | 368.7 |
| 4 | Belgium | 364.8 |
| 5 | France, Martinique | 358.4 |
| 6 | Slovenia | 358.2 |
| 7 | Hungary | 356.1 |
| 8 | Denmark | 354.3 |
| 9 | US | 347.0 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 345.9 |
| 11 | Ireland | 343.3 |
| 12 | South Korea | 340.0 |
| 13 | Slovakia | 338.2 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 337.9 |
| 15 | New Caledonia | 330.7 |
| 16 | The Netherlands | 327.8 |
| 17 | Latvia | 325.0 |
| 18 | Germany | 323.7 |
| 19 | Estonia | 321.9 |
| 20 | Canada | 320.8 |
| 21 | New Zealand | 320.1 |
| 22 | Croatia | 319.9 |
| 23 | Israel | 318.0 |
| 24 | Italy | 312.9 |
| 25 | Spain | 312.8 |
| 26 | Lithuania | 311.8 |
| 27 | Luxembourg | 309.1 |
| 28 | Portugal | 306.3 |
| 29 | Armenia | 305.6 |
| 30 | Iceland | 299.5 |
| 31 | Serbia | 299.2 |
| 32 | Uruguay | 297.5 |
| 33 | Sweden | 296.8 |
| 34 | Austria | 295.2 |
| 35 | Finland | 290.1 |
| 36 | French Polynesia | 287.4 |
| 37 | UK | 284.0 |
| 38 | Kazakhstan | 282.2 |
| 39 | Barbados | 277.2 |
| 40 | Belarus | 275.5 |
| 41 | Trinidad and Tobago | 273.5 |
| 42 | Romania | 271.0 |
| 43 | Poland | 269.2 |
| 44 | Malta | 267.7 |
| 45 | Macedonia | 265.5 |
| 46 | Montenegro | 262.7 |
| 47 | France, Guadeloupe | 260.9 |
| 48 | Bulgaria | 260.5 |
| 49 | Japan | 260.4 |
| 50 | Turkey | 257.8 |
Women
- The highest cancer rate was found in Denmark with 329 women per 100,000 being diagnosed in 2012.
- The age-standardised rate was at least 280 per 100,000 for Denmark, US, South Korea, the Netherlands and Belgium.
- The countries in the top ten come from Europe, Oceania, Asia and Northern America.
Rank |
Country |
Age-standardised rate per 100,000 (world) |
| 1 | Denmark | 328.8 |
| 2 | US | 297.4 |
| 3 | South Korea | 293.6 |
| 4 | The Netherlands | 289.6 |
| 5 | Belgium | 288.9 |
| 6 | Ireland | 278.9 |
| 7 | Australia | 278.6 |
| 8 | Canada | 277.4 |
| 9 | Norway | 277.1 |
| 10 | France (metropolitan) | 267.7 |
| 11 | New Zealand | 274.3 |
| 12 | Iceland | 274.2 |
| 13 | New Caledonia | 269.3 |
| 14 | UK | 267.3 |
| 15 | Luxembourg | 259.6 |
| 16 | Czech Republic | 258.9 |
| 17 | Israel | 258.7 |
| 18 | Barbados | 258.1 |
| 19 | Italy | 255.2 |
| 20 | Germany | 252.5 |
| 21 | Slovenia | 251.5 |
| 22 | Sweden | 248.7 |
| 23 | Serbia | 247.6 |
| 24 | Switzerland | 245.9 |
| 25 | Slovakia | 238.0 |
| 26 | Hungary | 236.5 |
| 27 | Finland | 234.2 |
| 28 | Croatia | 231.6 |
| 29 | Malta | 228.9 |
| 30 | French Polynesia | 227.3 |
| 31 | Armenia | 226.4 |
| 32 | Lithuania | 224.0 |
| 33 | Bahamas | 223.4 |
| 34 | Austria | 222.7 |
| 35 | Uruguay | 220.9 |
| 36 | Macedonia | 220.8 |
| 37 | Bulgaria | 220.1 |
| 38 | Montenegro | 219.7 |
| 39 | Kazakhstan | 216.7 |
| 40 | Argentina | 211.8 |
| 41 | Zimbabwe | 209.1 |
| 42 | Latvia | 206.5 |
| 43 | Poland | 205.6 |
| 44 | Estonia | 202.7 |
| 45 | Singapore | 198.7 |
| 46 | Cyprus | 198.2 |
| 47 | Spain | 198.1 |
| 48 | Portugal | 198.1 |
| 49 | Kenya | 196.6 |
| 50 | Mauritius | 193.9 |
Resource: WCRF International