IELTS Essays,
Letters, Graphs, Diagrams & Maps
59 6- The pie charts show the causes of diseases in developing and the developed countries. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Developing Countries Infectious &
Parasitic
Diseases
46%
Cancer
9%
Other
2%
Heart Disease
43%
Industrialized/ Developed Countries Cancer
21%
Other
54%
Heart Disease
24%
Infectious &
Parasitic
Diseases
1%
The two pie charts show differences in the causes of diseases in rich
countries and in the developing world. The biggest difference is that infectious
diseases still kill millions of people in poorer countries, whereas in the wealthy
nations, they account for only 1% of the deaths.
In both rich and poor countries heart disease is the biggest single killer. It
accounts for almost a quarter of deaths in the affluent countries, at 24%, but
almost double that in the poorer countries, at 43%. Cancer is also a major
cause of death. In the industrial countries, 21% of deaths are due to cancer.
However, in third world countries, it only makes up 9% of fatalities. The
greatest difference however, is infectious diseases. These make up almost
half of all deaths in poorer countries, but only 1% of diseases in developed
countries. In contrast, over half of deaths in the developed world are the result
of other diseases. This compares to just 2% of deaths in poorer countries.
In summary, most people in poorer countries die because of simpler, more
treatable infectious and parasitic diseases. They also suffer because of a lack
of resources to treat heart disease, whereas people in richer countries die due
to cancer, heart disease, and a wider range of other illnesses.
(215 words)
