A snapshot of Mumbai’s mortality data shows little change in the city’s leading causes of death, with heart disease and cancer accounting for the largest numbers. While nearly 10,000 deaths were attributed to cancer in 2023, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases also continued to claim thousands of lives.
Nearly 10,000 die by cancer in Mumbai
There is little change in how Mumbaikars die each year: heart attacks and cancer continue to claim thousands of lives, while tuberculosis remains a major cause of death. Head injuries — many linked to road accidents — and burn injuries also account for hundreds of deaths annually.
NCDs that kill
- Heart attack: 2021: 17,387 | 2022: 17,143 | 2023: 16,805 | 2024: 16,805 (provisional)
- Cancer: 2021: 9,085 | 2022: 9,887 | 2023: 9,978
- Kidney failure: 2021: 1,638 | 2022: 1,838 | 2023: 2,121
- Liver failure: 2021: 246 | 2022/2023: Data unavailable | 2024: 376
- Brain stroke: 2021: 1,649 | 2022/2023: Data unavailable | 2024: 1,726 (provisional)
- Alcohol-related conditions: 2021: 289 | 2022: 345 | 2023: 303 | 2024: 303
Infectious diseases
- Tuberculosis: 2021: 3,269 | 2022: 3,367 | 2023: 2,418 | 2024: 2,671 (provisional)
- HIV/AIDS: 2021: 1,259 | 2022: 984 | 2023: 979 | 2024: 954 (provisional)
Other key information
The largest number of deaths is recorded under the broad category “Any other disease”, which accounts for more than 50,000 deaths every year. This includes a wide range of causes, including deaths attributed to ageing and “normal deaths.”“The data is from a large number of health facilities in the city, including private hospitals. For the year 2024 and 2025, the data is raw, directly coming from physicians. There are death audit committees who need to verify it, especially for infectious diseases.”— Dr Daksha Shah, Executive Health Officer, BMC’s Health Department
