Part Two. The urgent need for action
Chapter One. Chronic diseases: causes and health impact
The pattern by country income grouping
The World Bank categorizes countries into four broad income groupings, based on each country's gross national income (GNI) per capita: low income, middle income (subdivided into lower middle and upper middle) or high income. A full listing of countries is given in Annex 3.
Deaths
For chronic diseases, the impact is clear: 80% of all chronic disease deaths occur in low and middle income countries, where most of the world's population lives, and the rates are higher than in high income countries. Deaths from chronic diseases occur at earlier ages in low and middle income countries than in high income countries. The figure on the right shows that the age-standardized death rates for chronic diseases are higher in low and middle income countries than in high income countries.
Burden
Chronic diseases contribute considerably to the disease burden in all income groups. The age-standardized rates are lowest in high income countries.