Abortion Global Leading Cause of Death in 2025, Claiming Over 73 Million Lives

Icon: Christ and the Holy Innocents. Photo: St. Basil of the Desert Orthodox Hermitage/Facebook

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Abortion was the leading cause of death globally in 2025, with over 73 million unborn babies killed, according to statistics compiled by Worldometers. The independent site aggregates government and organizational data and bases its figures on a 2024 World Health Organization fact sheet, which estimates roughly 39 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49 worldwide.

In comparison, an estimated 10 million people died from cancer, 6.2 million from smoking, and 2 million from HIV/AIDS, making abortion far the most prevalent cause of human death. In the United States, nearly one million abortions occur annually, accounting for nearly 20% of all pregnancies and surpassing deaths from any other cause. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, an estimated 66 million unborn children have been aborted in the U.S.

Pro-life advocates emphasize the human reality of each unborn child, noting that every fetus possesses unique DNA and a beating heart at the time of abortion.

Previously, the UOJ reported on Texas overturning Biden-era abortion-privacy rules. 

Read also