Nigeria rated 5th in highest pollution, mortality deaths

With  257,093 cases, Nigeria has been rated 5th country with the highest pollution and mortality deaths across the globe in one year.

Increasing pollution is said to be proving deadlier than war, natural disasters or smoking, having been responsible for at least 9 million premature deaths.

A new report published in the Lancet medical journal puts India at No1 with 2,515,518 (24.5 percent), China at No.2 with  1,838,251 (19.5 percent),followed by Pakistan with  311,189 deaths  (21.9 percent).

Bangladesh is in the 4th position with 260,836 deaths (26.6 percent).

The report is based  largely on 2015 data from the Global Burden of Disease.

Others on the list are:Indonesia: 211,896 (13.5 percent);Russia: 172,536 (8.6 percent);

United States: 155,155 (5.7 percent); Ethiopia: 129,450 (19.1 percent);and Democratic Republic of the Congo: 123,942 (18 percent).

While the highest death tolls were reported mostly in Asia, the highest rates of pollution-related mortality were seen in Africa.

Here are the countries with the highest number of pollution-related deaths and the highest pollution-related mortality rates.

10 HIGHEST RATES OF POLLUTION-RELATED DEATHS PER 100,000 POPULATION (PERCENT OF ALL DEATHS)

Somalia: 316.3 (26.5 percent)

Central African Republic: 303.8 (18.9 percent)

Chad: 284.9 (25.6 percent)

South Sudan: 264.2 (23.2 percent)

Niger: 245.5 (24.9 percent)

Guinea-Bissau: 238.9 (20.1 percent)

Lesotho: 226.8 (13.0 percent)

Afghanistan: 211.7 (18.7 percent)

India: 196.2 (24.5 percent)

Burundi: 178.7 (20.4 percent)