GLOBAL BURDEN
High blood pressure is one of the most important
causes of premature death worldwide killing
nearly 9.4 million people every year globally,
and the problem is growing.
Over 1 billion people are living with high blood
pressure. In 2008, globally, the overall
prevalence of high blood pressure (including
those on medication for high blood pressure) in
adults aged 25 and above was around 40%.
Among all WHO regions, the prevalence of
raised blood pressure was highest in the African
Region (46%) and lowest in the Region of the
Americas (35%). In the South-East Asia Region,
36% of adults have hypertension.
In all WHO regions, males had a slightly higher
prevalence of raised blood pressure than
females, but this difference was only statistically
significant in the Region of the Americas and the
European Region.
The prevalence of raised blood pressure in low,
lower-middle and upper-middle income countries
is higher (40%) than in high-income countries
(35%).
In high-income countries, strong public health
policies, multisectoral preventive action and
widely available diagnosis and treatment have
led to a reduction in the prevalence of high
blood pressure. In contrast, in many developing
countries the disease burden caused by raised
blood pressure has increased over the past
decade