The Asian Countries with the Highest Prostate Cancer Rates
New prostate cancer cases per 100,000 men, age-standardised, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates. Cyprus, Japan and Israel lead the 12 highest-rate countries in Asia, using the UN and IARC definition of the region.
Pictured: a Hokkaido University Hospital explainer on prostate cancer in Japan, #2 at 50.1 cases per 100,000 men (no suitable video was found for #1 Cyprus).
Rank
Country
Incidence, age-standardised (per 100,000 men)
Crude rate (per 100,000 men)
Sub-region
1
Cyprus
60.9
113.0
Western Asia
2
Japan
50.1
170.2
Eastern Asia
3
Israel
44.6
59.7
Western Asia
4
Armenia
37.2
54.6
Western Asia
5
Türkiye
35.3
40.9
Western Asia
6
Georgia
34.6
57.7
Western Asia
7
Singapore
32.8
64.9
South-Eastern Asia
8
South Korea
29.3
63.8
Eastern Asia
9
Lebanon
27.9
32.1
Western Asia
10
Philippines
24.1
17.3
South-Eastern Asia
11
Iran
21.8
22.6
South-Central Asia
12
Brunei
21.4
18.6
South-Eastern Asia
No matching rows.
Source and scope: every figure is a modelled GLOBOCAN 2022 estimate for 2022 from IARC’s Global Cancer Observatory, not a national registry count, so a country’s own statistics office may report something different.[1][2]What the rate means: the main column is age-standardised to the world standard population (“ASR (World)”). It shows how many new cases there would be per 100,000 men if every country had the same age mix. The crude rate is the raw count divided by the male population, so an older country such as Japan has a crude rate far above its standardised one, while a younger country such as the Philippines has the reverse. Prostate cancer is mostly a disease of older men, so only the age-standardised figure gives a fair comparison. Testing matters too: recorded incidence rises where more men have PSA blood tests, so a high rate partly reflects how much a health system tests and diagnoses, not only how many men develop the disease; researchers link recent increases in parts of Asia to more detection.[3]Which countries count as Asia: IARC groups countries by the UN’s regions, so Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia and Türkiye fall in Western Asia, and Iran and the Central Asian republics fall in South-Central Asia. For comparison, the 2022 rate was 29.4 worldwide and 12.6 for Asia as a whole: 24.0 in Western Asia, 15.1 in Eastern Asia and 6.4 in South-Central Asia, the lowest of any world region.[3][4] The list stops at 12 because below Brunei’s 21.4 we could not retrieve every country’s value to confirm the order. IARC has since published GLOBOCAN 2024 estimates (1.55 million new cases worldwide, an ASR of 29.3); this table keeps to the 2022 edition because a complete 2024 country table for Asia was not available to us.[8] Figures are rounded to one decimal and close neighbours can swap places between editions. For screening decisions, follow your national health authority’s guidance and talk to a doctor.
The Top 10
#1
Cyprus — 60.9 per 100,000
Cyprus has the highest age-standardised prostate cancer rate in Asia, about twice the world average and a little above Japan’s. Its crude rate of 113 per 100,000 reflects an older male population.[2] It ranks in Asia because IARC follows the UN’s regions, which place the island in Western Asia. In IARC’s latest country fact sheet, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Cypriot men, with about 709 new cases, nearly a quarter of all male cancers.[8] Survival is also among the best reported: around 99% of Cypriot men diagnosed around 2014 were alive five years later.[9]
#2
Japan — 50.1 per 100,000
Japan had an estimated 104,318 new prostate cancer cases in 2022, the third-highest count in the world after the United States and China.[4] Its crude rate of 170.2 per 100,000 is the highest in the table because so many Japanese men are elderly; age-standardising brings it down to 50.1, still well above the world’s 29.4 but below the United States’ 75.2.[2][4] Deaths are comparatively low: an age-standardised 4.4 per 100,000 (14,095 deaths), below the world average of 7.3.[4]
#3
Israel — 44.6 per 100,000
Israel was Asia’s highest-rate country in the GLOBOCAN 2012 estimates, at 84.3 per 100,000; the 2022 estimate of 44.6 is far lower, which puts it third.[2][5] Israeli research reported in the press has found that incidence has been falling among Jewish men and rising among Arab men, while the country’s prostate cancer death rate stays comparatively low.[7] About 96% of men diagnosed around 2014 survived at least five years.[9]
#4
Armenia — 37.2 per 100,000
Armenia is the highest-ranked country in the South Caucasus, with a crude rate of 54.6 that again points to an older male population.[2] A study of GLOBOCAN 2012 data across Asia listed Armenia among the five Asian countries with the highest prostate cancer death rates, alongside Turkey, Lebanon, Timor-Leste and the Philippines, so its high incidence comes with a heavier mortality burden than in Japan or Israel.[5]
#5
Türkiye — 35.3 per 100,000
Türkiye is by far the most populous of the Western Asian countries in the top ten. Its rate was put at 40.6 in GLOBOCAN 2012, and the 2022 estimate of 35.3 is lower.[2][5] Its crude rate (40.9) is only slightly above its age-standardised rate because its population is younger than those of Cyprus, Armenia or Georgia.[2] The same GLOBOCAN 2012 study listed Turkey among the Asian countries with the highest prostate cancer death rates.[5]
#6
Georgia — 34.6 per 100,000
Georgia sits just behind Türkiye and Armenia, completing a cluster of Western Asian countries in the 34–37 range.[2] Its crude rate of 57.7 is well above its age-standardised rate, a gap that reflects a relatively old population: without standardisation, Georgia would look worse than countries with similar underlying risk but younger populations.[2]
#7
Singapore — 32.8 per 100,000
Singapore has the highest rate in South-East Asia, ahead of the Philippines (24.1) and Brunei (21.4), according to an analysis of the region’s 2022 data.[6] The rate has barely changed since GLOBOCAN 2012, which put it at 33.1.[5] About 88% of Singaporean men diagnosed around 2014 survived at least five years.[9]
#8
South Korea — 29.3 per 100,000
South Korea’s age-standardised rate is almost exactly the world average, but its crude rate (63.8) is more than twice as high, a measure of how quickly the country is ageing.[2] It ranks just below Singapore and is the second East Asian country in the table after Japan; China’s rate, by comparison, is 9.7.[2][4]
#9
Lebanon — 27.9 per 100,000
Lebanon’s 2022 estimate is close to its GLOBOCAN 2020 figure of 28.5, which a Lebanese study described as the highest in the Middle East and North Africa after Israel.[2][10] The country’s own cancer registry shows a higher rate: 29.1 per 100,000 in 2005, rising to 37.3 in 2016. Registry counts and modelled GLOBOCAN estimates are calculated differently, so the two series should not be compared directly.[10]
#10
Philippines — 24.1 per 100,000
The Philippines has South-East Asia’s second-highest rate.[6] It is the only country in the top ten whose crude rate (17.3) is below its age-standardised rate: its population is young, so a raw count understates the risk an older man faces.[2] Like Armenia, it was among the Asian countries with the highest prostate cancer death rates in the GLOBOCAN 2012 analysis.[5]
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Global Cancer Observatory, “Cancer Today” (GLOBOCAN 2022), prostate cancer (C61), males; and Bray F. et al., “Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries,” CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (2024) — gco.iarc.who.int/today
World Population Review, “Prostate Cancer Rates by Country”, the source used for every row (GLOBOCAN 2022 age-standardised and crude rates per 100,000 men), checked against [4] and [6] for Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei — worldpopulationreview.com
“Recent Patterns and Trends in Global Prostate Cancer Incidence and Mortality: An Update,” European Urology (2024), with GLOBOCAN 2022 regional rates (Asia, Western Asia, Eastern Asia, South-Central Asia) and national incidence trends — europeanurology.com
World Cancer Research Fund, “Prostate cancer statistics” (GLOBOCAN 2022 incidence and mortality tables, including Japan, China, India and the United States, and the world rates) — wcrf.org
“The incidence and mortality of prostate cancer and its relationship with development in Asia,” Prostate International (2015), using GLOBOCAN 2012 — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
“Prostate Cancer in Southeast Asia: An Analysis of 2022 Incidence and Mortality Data,” International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics (2024) — redjournal.org
The Jerusalem Post, “Prostate cancer decreasing in Israeli Jews, rising for Arabs – study” — jpost.com
IARC Global Cancer Observatory, GLOBOCAN 2024 country fact sheet for Cyprus and prostate cancer fact sheet; and Sung H. et al., “Global cancer statistics 2024: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 34 cancers in 186 countries,” CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (2026) — gco.iarc.who.int
World Population Review, “Cancer Survival Rates by Country” (prostate cancer five-year survival, labelled 2014) — worldpopulationreview.com
Lakkis N.A., Osman M.H., “Prostate Cancer in Lebanon: Incidence, Temporal Trends, and Comparison to Countries From Different Regions in the World,” Cancer Control (2021) — doi.org/10.1177/10732748211055267
