What Kills Us? Data from 1000 AD to 2026

In this timeline I track the percentage of total global deaths attributed to major causes of death from 1000 AD to 2026. The metric is expressed as a share of all deaths worldwide. To build this epidemiological index, I harmonized historical paleodemography with modern global health databases, carefully separating "black swan" mass-casualty events from steady, chronic baselines. Primary data pools: Baseline mortality rates for the ancient world were based on the Maddison Project Database and demographic reconstructions from Colin McEvedy’s Atlas of World Population History. The drop in infectious diseases and the simultaneous rise of modern diseases (Heart Disease and Cancer) were mapped using early 20th century vital statistics, historical WHO (World Health Organization) archives, and military casualty databases for WWI and WWII. Modern mortality was extracted directly from the IHME Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study. ***** Hi, I'm Sasha. I crunch numbers, play with data, and create cool visuals. If you enjoy my work, a little support can get me a coffee and a cookie for my baby girl Eva ☕🍪 https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dataisbeautifulme If you want to connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasha-medin-07270234 My main data project: https://fivehundred.co/40-years-of-candlestick-pattern-success-rates