Indicators of avoidable mortality offer a general “starting point” to assess the effectiveness of public health and healthcare systems in reducing deaths from various diseases and injuries. Avoidable mortality includes deaths from preventable causes that can be avoided through effective public health measures and primary prevention interventions, and treatable deaths that are amenable to policy action through timely and effective healthcare interventions. On average, avoidable mortality rates comprise 145 deaths per 100 000 population from preventable causes and 77 deaths per 100 000 population from treatable causes in 2023.
Across 36 OECD countries, in 2023, over 3 million premature deaths among people aged under 75 could have been avoided through better prevention and healthcare interventions, an average rate of 222 deaths per 100 000 population. The avoidable mortality rate for men (303 deaths per 100 000 population) was double that for women (149 deaths per 100 000) on average across OECD countries (Figure 3.4). The age‑standardised avoidable mortality rate ranged from fewer than 140 deaths per 100 000 population in Japan, Israel, Sweden, Luxembourg and Switzerland to higher than 400 deaths per 100 000 in Latvia, Mexico, Colombia, and accession/partner countries Romania, Brazil and South Africa.
Preventable causes mainly include infectious diseases and injuries, among other conditions associated with risk factors such as tobacco use – linked to cancers and cardiovascular conditions (OECD, forthcoming[1]). The average age‑standardised mortality rate from preventable causes was 145 deaths per 100 000 population across OECD countries in 2023, slightly lower than in 2013 (150 deaths per 100 000). Preventable mortality rates ranged from under 85 deaths per 100 000 population in Luxembourg, Switzerland and Israel, to over 250 deaths per 100 000 in Latvia and Colombia (Figure 3.5). Preventable mortality was also high in accession/partner countries Romania, Croatia, Brazil and South Africa.
The main treatable causes of mortality include circulatory diseases (mainly heart attack and stroke), metabolic conditions such as diabetes and cancers. Mortality rates from treatable causes averaged 77 deaths per 100 000 across OECD countries, a rate slightly lower than in 2013 (86 deaths per 100 000) (Figure 3.6). They ranged from 45 or fewer deaths per 100 000 population in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Korea to over 150 deaths per 100 000 in Latvia and Mexico. Treatable mortality was also high in accession/partner countries Bulgaria, Romania and South Africa.
