Bladder cancer is the sixth most commonly occurring cancer in men and the 17th most commonly occurring cancer in women. There were almost 550,000 new cases in 2018. The top 25 countries with the highest incidence of bladder cancer in 2018 are given in the tables below.
The Continuous Update Project Panel judged there is strong evidence that drinking water containing arsenic increases the risk of bladder cancer. There is some evidence that consuming fruit and vegetables and drinking tea might decrease the risk of bladder cancer.
> Read about all the evidence in our Third Expert Report.
Age-standardised rates are used in the tables. This is a summary measure of the rate of disease that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardisation is necessary when comparing populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of dying from cancer.
Bladder cancer rates: both sexes
Lebanon had the highest rate of bladder cancer in 2018, followed by Greece.
| Rank | Country | Age-standardised rate per 100,000 |
| 1 | Lebanon | 25.0 |
| 2 | Greece | 21.2 |
| 3 | Denmark | 17.9 |
| 4 | Hungary | 16.6 |
| 5= | Albania | 16.3 |
| 5= | Netherlands | 16.3 |
| 7 | Belgium | 16.2 |
| 8 | Italy | 15.9 |
| 9 | Germany | 15.7 |
| 10 | Spain | 15.6 |
| 11 | Serbia | 15.1 |
| 12 | Croatia | 13.7 |
| 13= | Iceland | 13.5 |
| 13= | Poland | 13.5 |
| 15 | Norway | 13.0 |
| 16 | Syria | 12.9 |
| 17 | Switzerland | 12.7 |
| 18 | Malta | 12.6 |
| 19 | Bulgaria | 12.1 |
| 20 | US | 12.0 |
| 21= | Turkey | 11.9 |
| 21= | Egypt | 11.9 |
| 23= | Czech Republic | 11.7 |
| 23= | Israel | 11.7 |
| 23= | Latvia | 11.7 |