Air pollution is a major public health concern worldwide because of its adverse health impact. It is now the fourth leading risk factor for premature death. Exposure to air pollution contributed to 6.67 million deaths in 2019 alone. Thus, knowing which countries have the highest and lowest mortality rates attributable to air pollution is important.
In a recent study, two scientists in Norway examined the global effect of ambient PM2.5 and ozone pollution on mortality rates across 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2017. The data were extracted from an OECD database. The study reported the top 10 countries with the highest and lowest average mortality rates attributable to ambient PM2.5 and ozone pollution (Figure 1).
The top 10 countries with the highest mortality rates attributable to air pollution included Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Czech, Slovakia, and Serbia. All of them are Eastern European countries. China and India, two of the most populous and polluted countries in the world, are not on the shortlist but have the highest numbers of premature deaths due to exposure to ambient PM2.5 and ozone pollution.
Of the top 10 countries with the lowest mortality rates attributable to air pollution, seven are in Africa (Libya, Mozambique, Malawi, Mali, Uganda, Madagascar, and Kenya), two are in Central America (Nicaragua, Honduras), and the remaining one is in Southern America (Paraguay). Interestingly, the lowest mortality rates attributable to air pollution do not suggest longer life expectancies in these countries (Figure 2), possibly due to other risk factors such as nutrition, hygiene, etc.
The highest average mortality rate attributable to air pollution was observed in Ukraine, which is 20 times higher than the lowest average recorded in Libya. Another article introduces the top 10 countries with the world’s dirtiest and cleanest air from 1990 to 2017.
