Breast Cancer Statistics in the UK
- There are around 11,500 breast cancer deaths in the UK every year, that’s 32 every day (2016-2018).
- Breast cancer is the 4th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 7% of all cancer deaths (2018).
- In females in the UK, breast cancer is the 2nd most common cause of cancer death, with around 11,500 deaths in 2018.
- In males in the UK, breast cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death, with around 95 deaths in 2018.
- Mortality rates for breast cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2016-2018).
- Each year almost half of all breast cancer deaths (48%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
- Since the early 1970s, breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by almost two-fifths (39%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by more than a third (36%), and rates in males have decreased by more than two-fifths (43%).
- Over the last decade, breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by around a fifth (19%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by a sixth (17%), and rates in males have remained stable.
- Mortality rates for breast cancer are generally lower in females of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication “Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales”.
- Mortality rates for breast cancer are projected to fall by 26% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, to 31 deaths per 100,000 females by 2035.
- Breast cancer deaths in England are more common in females living in the most deprived areas. There is no association for males.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the UK, with 54,724 new cases in 20171. Breast cancer is rare in men, with around 400 new cases diagnosed each year in the UK.
Worldwide
Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall. There were over 2 million new cases in 2018. The top 25 countries with the highest rates of breast cancer in 2018 are given in the table below.
(Source: https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/breast-cancer-statistics/)
Belgium had the highest rate of breast cancer in women, followed by Luxembourg.
| Rank | Country | Age-standardised rate per 100,000 |
| 1 | Belgium | 113.2 |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 109.3 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 105.9 |
| 4 | France (metropolitan) | 99.1 |
| 5 | New Caledonia (France) | 98.0 |
| 6 | Lebanon | 97.6 |
| 7 | Australia | 94.5 |
| 8 | UK | 93.6 |
| 9 | Italy | 92.8 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 92.6 |
| 11 | Ireland | 90.3 |
| 12 | Sweden | 89.8 |
| 13 | Finland | 89.5 |
| 14 | Denmark | 88.8 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 88.1 |
| 16 | Montenegro | 87.8 |
| 17 | Malta | 87.6 |
| 18 | Norway | 87.5 |
| 19 | Hungary | 85.5 |
| 20 | Germany | 85.4 |
| 21 | Iceland | 85.2 |
| 22 | US | 84.9 |
| 23 | Canada | 83.8 |
| 24 | Cyprus | 81.7 |
| 25 | Samoa | 80.1 |
