Mesothelioma is rare. In 2022, 2,669 cases were reported in the United States, translating to a rate of roughly 0.65 per 100,000 people. For context, that means fewer than 1 in every 150,000 Americans is diagnosed with this cancer in a given year. Globally, about 30,633 new cases were estimated in 2022.
U.S. Cases and Long-Term Trends
Around 3,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S., a number that has been slowly declining. Mortality from mesothelioma dropped from 8.5 deaths per million in 1999 to 5.7 per million in 2020, a decrease of roughly 1.9% per year. That decline reflects tighter asbestos regulations that began decades ago, though the disease’s extremely long latency period (often 20 to 50 years between exposure and diagnosis) means cases from past exposures are still appearing. Experts expect incidence to remain stable or continue a slow decline rather than drop sharply.
Who Gets Mesothelioma
Men are diagnosed far more often than women, largely because the industries with heaviest asbestos exposure have historically employed more men. Most patients are diagnosed after age 65, consistent with the decades-long gap between asbestos exposure and tumor development. In children and young adults, mesothelioma is exceptionally rare, affecting fewer than 0.1 per 100,000 people in the U.S.
Where Rates Are Highest
Countries that industrialized early and used asbestos heavily tend to have the highest rates. Australia and New Zealand top the list, followed by Northern, Western, and Southern Europe. Luxembourg has one of the highest per-capita rates in the world at about 2.0 per 100,000, and the United Kingdom follows at roughly 1.3 per 100,000. These elevated numbers reflect widespread asbestos use in shipbuilding, construction, and manufacturing throughout the mid-20th century. Nations that banned asbestos later, or haven’t banned it at all, may see their peak incidence still ahead.
Types of Mesothelioma by Location
The vast majority of cases, roughly 70 to 90%, develop in the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma). Peritoneal mesothelioma, which forms in the abdominal lining, accounts for 10 to 30% of cases. Rarer forms can develop in the lining of the heart or the tissue surrounding the testicles, but these make up a very small fraction of total diagnoses.
Occupations With the Highest Risk
Asbestos exposure is the dominant cause of mesothelioma, and certain industries carry disproportionate risk. A review of over 1,000 industry records from U.S. mesothelioma patients found the following breakdown:
- Manufacturing: 22% of cases, including work with insulation, textiles, and automotive parts that historically contained asbestos.
- Construction: 13.5%, where workers encountered asbestos in roofing, flooring, cement, and pipe insulation.
- Educational services: 6.5%, primarily from older school buildings insulated with asbestos-containing materials.
- Healthcare and social assistance: 8.7%, likely from asbestos in hospital infrastructure rather than clinical work itself.
- Professional and technical services: 8.6%.
The presence of healthcare and education on this list surprises many people, but it underscores that mesothelioma risk isn’t limited to people who worked directly with raw asbestos. Anyone who spent years in buildings insulated with asbestos products could be at risk, especially if those materials were disturbed during renovations or deteriorated over time.
Why It Stays Rare but Persistent
Mesothelioma’s rarity is tied directly to the specificity of its cause. Unlike lung cancer, which has many risk factors, mesothelioma is overwhelmingly linked to asbestos fiber exposure. As developed countries phased out asbestos (the U.S. began major restrictions in the 1970s and 1980s), the pipeline of newly exposed workers shrank. But because mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to develop after exposure, diagnoses from that era are still occurring today. The disease also has no reliable early screening method, so most cases are caught at an advanced stage, which contributes to its low survival rates.
Asbestos hasn’t been fully banned in the United States, and it remains in widespread use in some developing countries. Older buildings, industrial sites, and natural asbestos deposits continue to create exposure opportunities. For these reasons, mesothelioma is unlikely to disappear entirely, even as annual case counts gradually fall in countries with strong regulations.