Before World War II, medical care in Yugoslavia was generally very poor. The country had only one physician for every 750 urban residents; in rural areas, the ratio was almost twenty times worse. In 1990, despite overall strides in the nation's healthcare system, a wide disparity remained between urban and rural areas in the delivery of health care.

Disease and Mortality

The most frequent causes of death in Yugoslavia in 1984 were diseases of the circulatory system (45.2 percent of total deaths for men and 56 percent for women) and cancer (16.1 percent for men, 13.3 percent for women). Death from circulatory diseases was more than twice as likely in the country's developed regions as in the less developed areas, while in Kosovo the share of infectious diseases still accounted for 7.8 percent of male deaths and 10.1 percent of female deaths in the 1980s. Increasing environmental pollution and cigarette smoking possibly were reflected in a steep increase in deaths from cancer and circulatory problems between 1975 and 1986. Accidents, especially traffic accidents, accounted for 41.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, while the suicide rate rose by almost a quarter between 1975 and 1989.

Data as of December 1990

NOTE: The information regarding Yugoslavia (former) on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Yugoslavia (former) Disease and Mortality information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Yugoslavia (former) Disease and Mortality should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.