Summary Globally, in 2019, occupational risks contributed to 951 000 deaths (95% UI 827 000–1 090 000) in males and 269 000 deaths (213 000–332 000) in females. About two-thirds of these deaths were from non-communicable diseases and one-third from injuries.

Definition Occupational risks constitute an aggregation of all individual occupational risks modelled as Level 3 risk factors. These include occupational injuries; ergonomic factors; and occupational exposure to particulate matter, fumes and gases, carcinogens, noise, and asthmagens.

Total sources
Exposure 2485
Relative risk 21
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •New International Labour Organization employment data, comprising 1197 new unique location-years, including 174 unique locations and 13 unique years (2006–2018), were included.
  • •Estimation of missing employment data was improved by changing covariates to education (years per capita), government expenditure, and Muslim proportion of the population (for females only).
  • •The covariate used in model for percentage of people working in the mining industry was changed to asbestos consumption (metric tons per year) per capita, which improved predictions.
  • •The MR-BRT tool was used to adjust for inconsistencies in data sources for fatal injuries.
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
1·22 (1·08
to 1·37)
15·3 (13·5
to 17·3)
32·9 (30·0
to 35·9)
405·8 (369·0
to 442·7)
33·2 (24·3
to 43·2)
401·6 (293·4
to 522·2)
66·1 (56·4
to 76·0)
807·5 (690·1
to 927·8)
Females
0·269 (0·213
to 0·332)
6·2 (4·9
to 7·7)
6·14 (5·25
to 7·16)
144·7 (124·1
to 168·6)
13·0 (9·52
to 16·9)
311·6 (227·3
to 404·6)
19·1 (15·5
to 23·2)
456·3 (370·2
to 553·6)
Males
0·951 (0·827
to 1·09)
26·2 (22·3
to 30·4)
26·8 (24·1
to 29·5)
685·6 (614·9
to 757·6)
20·2 (14·7
to 26·2)
494·7 (361·9
to 640·5)
47·0 (40·1
to 53·4)
1180·3 (1010·1
to 1336·0)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
4·1% (–2·6
to 11·1)
–16·8% (–21·9
to –11·5)
–3·3% (–9·9
to 3·4)
–18·6% (–24·1
to –13·1)
11·1% (8·8
to 13·8)
–5·1% (–7·0
to –3·1)
3·4% (–0·8
to 7·7)
–12·4% (–15·9
to –8·7)
Females
7·8% (–3·8
to 19·7)
–15·3% (–23·9
to –5·8)
0·4% (–9·8
to 11·9)
–17·2% (–25·4
to –7·8)
13·0% (10·3
to 16·0)
–3·5% (–5·7
to –1·1)
8·7% (4·4
to 13·3)
–8·3% (–12·0
to –4·3)
Males
3·1% (–4·6
to 11·0)
–17·7% (–23·4
to –11·8)
–4·1% (–11·5
to 3·9)
–19·1% (–25·1
to –12·6)
9·8% (6·9
to 13·1)
–6·2% (–8·6
to –3·7)
1·4% (–3·8
to 6·9)
–14·2% (–18·5
to –9·6)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Attributable global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 13th 12th 2nd 11th
2010 14th 14th 4th 13th
2019 13th 14th 5th 12th
Table 3: Rank among attributable Level 2 risks of global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019 for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of attributable global DALYs by constituent Level 2 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Composition of attributable global DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised all-cause SEV by location, both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Percentage change in all-cause age-standardised SEV by SDI, both sexes combined, 1990–2019