What do children die from in the United States Virgin Islands?

To stop children from dying, we need to know what they are dying from. Understanding this allows governments and society to develop and focus on the largest causes of death. That can lead to a stronger focus on the interventions that would make the biggest difference.

In the treemap below, you can see estimates for the United States Virgin Islands. The total size of the visualization represents the total number of under-fives that died. Each box inside is a cause of death, with its size proportional to the share of child deaths.

What share of births in the United States Virgin Islands are attended by skilled workers?

Having skilled health staff available at childbirth can improve health outcomes for both the mother and baby, especially if complications arise.

In the chart, you see the share of births attended by skilled workers in the United States Virgin Islands, alongside its neighbors. In 2003, this share was 99%.

What is the United States Virgin Islands’ life expectancy at birth?

In 2023, the United States Virgin Islands’ life expectancy at birth was 75.5 years.

You can see how this has changed over time in the chart, alongside neighboring countries.

This is a period measure of life expectancy, which tells us the average number of years a newborn would live if today’s death rates at each age remained constant throughout their life. This does not necessarily reflect the most common age of death in the country.

What is the life expectancy of men and women in the United States Virgin Islands?

In most countries, women live on average longer than men. But the size of this life expectancy gap varies.

In the chart, you can see life expectancy at birth for men and women in the United States Virgin Islands.

In 2023, life expectancy was 81.4 years for women, and 70.5 years for men.

What is the United States Virgin Islands’ life expectancy at different ages?

Life expectancy at birth is often sensitive to death rates at younger ages. In particular, life expectancy is low when child mortality rates are high. These figures would tell you very little about how long a 40, 50, or 60-year-old could expect to live.

It’s therefore useful to look at life expectancy at different ages. This is shown in the chart for 10, 25, 45, 65, and 80-year-olds.

What do people in the United States Virgin Islands die from?

Understanding what people die from allows countries to tailor resources, develop interventions, and allocate funding to areas where the most progress can be made.

In the treemap below, you can see estimates of what people in the United States Virgin Islands died from in 2023.

The total size of the visualization represents the total number of deaths in that year. Each box inside is a cause of death, with its size proportional to the share of all deaths.

How many people in the United States Virgin Islands die from infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and injuries?

Causes of death can be categorized into broader categories: infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and injuries. This can give us some insight into a country's health challenges and how they’re changing.

Infectious, maternal, and nutritional diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, are more common in low- and middle-income countries. In richer countries, most people die from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.

In the chart, you can see the breakdown of deaths in the United States Virgin Islands by these broad categories. In 2023, 42.0 died from communicable diseases, 888 from NCDs, and 79.6 from injuries.

How are death rates from infectious diseases in the United States Virgin Islands changing?

Infectious diseases include a broad range of illnesses that can be spread through vectors, such as contaminated water or mosquitoes, or from person to person. This includes diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19.

In the chart, you can see how death rates from communicable diseases in the United States Virgin Islands have changed over time. This is shown alongside neighboring countries for comparison.

Are deaths from cardiovascular disease in the United States Virgin Islands increasing or decreasing?

One of the leading causes of death in many countries is cardiovascular disease. These deaths are far more likely in older people, so as countries make progress on reducing deaths at younger ages, it’s likely to become a more dominant cause of death.

Is the United States Virgin Islands making progress against cardiovascular disease?

There are several metrics we can use to understand mortality: the total number of deaths, the crude death rate (which simply divides the number of deaths by the country’s population), or the age-standardized death rate, which holds the age structure of the population constant, removing the effect of population aging from the trend.

In the chart below, you can see the change in these three metrics for the United States Virgin Islands.

Are deaths from cancer in the United States Virgin Islands increasing or decreasing?

Another leading cause of death in many countries is cancer.

Is the United States Virgin Islands making progress on reducing cancer deaths?

Again, we can use the same indicators to understand mortality: the total number of deaths, the crude death rate (which simply divides the number of deaths by the country’s population), or the age-standardized death rate, which holds the age structure of the population constant, so it tells us about how rates are changing regardless of aging. This is important because the risk of most cancers also increases steeply with age.

In the chart below, you can see the change in these three metrics for the United States Virgin Islands.

What are the largest health risk factors in the United States Virgin Islands?

Many environmental, societal, and lifestyle factors increase the risk of someone developing a disease or other health problem. These are called “risk factors” and include things such as smoking, air pollution, obesity, insufficient physical activity, and diet.

In the chart, you can see modeled estimates for how many people in the United States Virgin Islands die prematurely as a result of various risk factors. Note that the same death can be attributed to multiple risk factors, so the death tolls from different risk factors cannot simply be added up (this is why their sum can be higher than the total number of deaths).

Each figure estimates how many deaths would have been averted if that risk factor had not existed.

How much air pollution are people in the United States Virgin Islands exposed to?

Air pollution is a key risk factor for premature death and illness in many countries. This can come from either indoor or outdoor exposure to air pollutants.

The health risks of outdoor air pollution depend on how much people are exposed to it.

In the chart, you can see the average level of exposure to small suspended particles in the United States Virgin Islands, compared to the global and regional averages.

Vaccinations

What share of children in the United States Virgin Islands receive key vaccinations?

Many vaccinations are effective in protecting people against potentially fatal diseases. Most recommended vaccinations are administered during childhood, where they can give the most effective and prolonged protection. Childhood vaccinations are estimated to have saved the lives of around 150 million children globally over the last 50 years.

What share of children in the United States Virgin Islands get vaccinated? The chart below shows the data across a range of important vaccines.