About COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious, progressive and disabling condition that limits airflow in the lungs. It includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. People with COPD are often short of breath and may have frequent coughing.
The condition mainly affects older people and its main cause is active smoking or exposure to smoking, although some people with COPD have never smoked in their lives.
COPD is a type of chronic airways disease, as is asthma.
This snapshot provides high-level statistics on COPD in Australia. More detailed information can be found in Asthma in Australia 2011: with a focus chapter on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and in other publications from the AIHW and the Australian Centre for Airways disease Monitoring (ACAM).
Additional resources for COPD.
This information was last updated December 2016.
COPD by numbers
1 in 20
Australians aged 45 and over have COPD (5.1%), based on self-reported data. That’s 460,400 people.
Fifth leading cause of death
In 2014 COPD was the fifth leading cause of death in Australia. In that year 7,025 people died from COPD (4.6% of all deaths).
Since 1970, COPD mortality has decreased by two-thirds for males. The COPD mortality rate has always been lower for females than males. The female rate increased from the mid-60s to the mid-90s, but has decreased slightly since then.
2.5 times as high
Self-reported COPD rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians.