Gallbladder cancer is the 23rd most common cancer worldwide.
Gallbladder cancer is the 23rd most common cancer worldwide. It is the 23rd most common cancer in men and the 20th most common cancer in women.
There were more than 115,000 new cases of gallbladder cancer in 2020.
The 10 countries with the highest rates of gallbladder cancer and the highest number of deaths from gallbladder cancer in 2020 are shown in the tables below.
ASR = age-standardised rates. These are a summary measure of the rate of disease that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardisation is necessary when comparing populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of dying from cancer.
The following 3 tables show total global gallbladder cancer incidence and rates in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Bolivia had the highest overall rate of gallbladder cancer in 2020, followed by Chile.
Rank | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 115,949 | 1.2 | |
1 | Bolivia | 1,012 | 8.5 |
2 | Chile | 1,762 | 5.6 |
3 | Bangladesh | 7,252 | 4.9 |
4 | Nepal | 1,015 | 4.1 |
5 | South Korea | 3,437 | 2.9 |
6 | North Korea | 1,038 | 2.7 |
7 | Peru | 1,024 | 2.6 |
8 | Algeria | 1,056 | 2.5 |
9 | Slovakia | 310 | 2.5 |
10 | Libya | 129 | 2.4 |
Rank (men) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 41,062 | 0.9 | |
1 | Bolivia | 400 | 7.3 |
2 | Chile | 513 | 3.6 |
3 | North Korea | 460 | 3.3 |
4 | South Korea | 1,598 | 3.2 |
5 | Nepal | 315 | 2.9 |
6 | Bangladesh | 1,921 | 2.7 |
7 | Oman | 31 | 2.7 |
8 | Gaza Strip and West Bank | 22 | 2.0 |
9 | Japan | 4,013 | 1.8 |
10 | Thailand | 993 | 1.8 |
Rank (women) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 74,887 | 1.4 | |
1 | Bolivia | 612 | 9.6 |
2 | Bangladesh | 5,331 | 7.2 |
3 | Chile | 1,249 | 7.2 |
4 | Nepal | 700 | 5.1 |
5 | Peru | 778 | 3.9 |
6 | Algeria | 743 | 3.6 |
7 | Libya | 103 | 3.5 |
8 | Slovakia | 232 | 3.2 |
9 | French Polynesia | 6 | 3.0 |
10 | Pakistan | 2,162 | 2.8 |
The following 3 tables show total global gallbladder cancer mortality in 2020, followed by the figures for men and women. Bolivia had the highest overall mortality rate from gallbladder cancer in 2020, followed by Bangladesh.
Rank | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 84,695 | 0.8 | |
1 | Bolivia | 713 | 5.8 |
2 | Bangladesh | 5,742 | 3.9 |
3 | Chile | 1,143 | 3.5 |
4 | Nepal | 756 | 3.1 |
5 | North Korea | 874 | 2.3 |
6 | Libya | 99 | 1.8 |
7 | Pakistan | 2,630 | 1.7 |
8 | Bhutan | 11 | 1.7 |
9 | South Korea | 1,997 | 1.6 |
10 | Algeria | 684 | 1.6 |
Rank (men) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 30,265 | 0.7 | |
1 | Bolivia | 293 | 5.2 |
2 | North Korea | 407 | 2.9 |
3 | Chile | 332 | 2.3 |
4 | Nepal | 241 | 2.2 |
5 | Bangladesh | 1,526 | 2.1 |
6 | Oman | 23 | 1.9 |
7 | South Korea | 872 | 1.7 |
8 | Bhutan | 5 | 1.6 |
9 | Papua New Guinea | 29 | 1.5 |
10 | Gaza Strip and West Bank | 16 | 1.4 |
Rank (women) | Country | Number | ASR/100,000 |
World | 54,430 | 1.0 | |
1 | Bolivia | 420 | 6.3 |
2 | Bangladesh | 4,216 | 5.7 |
3 | Chile | 811 | 4.6 |
4 | Nepal | 515 | 3.8 |
5 | Libya | 80 | 2.7 |
6 | Pakistan | 1,873 | 2.4 |
7 | Algeria | 484 | 2.3 |
8 | Peru | 452 | 2.2 |
9 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 2 | 2.2 |
10 | North Korea | 467 | 2.0 |
There is strong evidence that:
Other causes, with the exception of gallstones, have not been established.
> Read more about what can cause and what can protect against gallbladder cancer
The data on this page comes from the Global Cancer Observatory, owned by the World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer, and is used with permission. The cancer incidence figures and ASRs were compiled using the data available here (last accessed 23 March 2022). For queries about our cancer statistics please email the Research Interpretation team: ri@wcrf.org.