  according to the cia world factbook, as of july 2012, the global crude death rate is 7.99 deaths/1,000 population. the crude death rate represents the total number of deaths per year per thousand people. comparatively, the crude death rate in the year 1900 was 17.2 deaths/1,000 population and 9.6 deaths/1,000 population in 1950 in america. ==highest crude death rates worldwide== cia- the world fact book {|border="1" cell padding="5" |- ! scope="col" | rank ! scope="col" | country ! scope="col" | deaths/1,000 population |- |1 |south africa |17.23 |- |2 |ukraine |15.76 |- |3 |lesotho |15.18 |- |4 |chad |15.16 |- |5 |guinea-bissau |15.01 |- |6 |central african republic |14.71 |- |7 |afghanistan |14.59 |- |8 |somalia |14.55 |- |9 |bulgaria |14.32 |- |10 |swaziland |14.21 |- |11 |russia |14.10 |- |12 |belarus |13.90 |- |13 |mali |13.90 |- |14 |serbia |13.81 |- |15 |estonia |13.60 |- |16 |latvia |13.60 |- |17 |nigeria |13.48 |- |18 |zambia |13.40 |- |19 |niger |13.40 |- |20 |namibia |13.09 |- |} ==cause of death== throughout the 20th century in the developed world, the leading causes of death transitioned from infectious diseases such as influenza, to degenerative diseases such as cancer or diabetes. in 1900, the leading cause of death in the united states was influenza with 202.2 deaths per 100,000 people followed by tuberculosis with 194.4, which is a curable illness today. in the middle of 20th century america, the leading cause of death was heart disease with an impressive 355.5 deaths per 100,000 followed by cancer at 139.8 deaths per 100,000. although death rates dropped significantly in the latter part of the 20th century, the leading killers are still constant. the united states saw 192.9 people per 100,000 die from heart disease in 2010 followed by cancer with 185.9 people per 100,000.{{cite web|last=toro|first=ross|title=leading causes of death in the us: 1900 - present (infographic) by ross toro, livescience contributor|url=http://www.livescience.com/21213-leading-causes-of-death-in-the-u-s-since-1900-infographic.html|publisher=livescience|accessdate=october 
20th-century_deaths