Hi, this is a nice, brief, clear list, thanks!

To add in another layer of analysis, let's not forget how the causes of death vary massively by country income* - lower respiratory disease and diarrhea related deaths are the top two killers in low income countries, which are mainly children dying of entirely preventable illnesses related to poor nutrition, water and hygiene.

In richer countries, the top two killers are heart disease and stroke, which are more associated with old age (but not entirely) and fragility, so much more difficult to prevent.

It's also interesting to note that relatively small sums of money invested in basic improvements to water supplies and sewage systems in poor countries would reduce these preventable deaths by millions a year.

Much progress has been made in this area over the past few years so there's room for optimism (I agree with the recently deceased Hans Rosling on this), but there's still much to do!

Nice to see people posting about important, global issues.

*source - WHO - http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index1.html