The Health and Safety Executive has published statistics on asbestos-related diseases in Great Britain for 2025.

There are currently around 5,000 deaths a year from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period, with symptoms typically appearing decades after exposure.

In 2023 there were 2,218 mesothelioma deaths. This is a slight decrease from the 2,280 deaths in 2022 and is significantly lower than the average of 2,508 a year from 2011 to 2020. There were 1,802 male deaths in 2023, compared with an average of 2,091 per year between 2011 and 2020. This is consistent with projections that the number of mesothelioma deaths in men would fall during the 2020s. Mesothelioma deaths in women are expected to remain at between 400 and 500 a year over the decade before subsequently reducing. There were 416 female deaths in 2023.

Studies suggest that the number of deaths from asbestos-related lung cancer is about the same as from mesothelioma, or about 2,500 a year. Lung cancer usually has no specific clinical signs associated with particular causes, so it is very difficult to be sure about the causes of individual cases. Asbestos is also estimated to cause a small number of deaths annually from cancers of the larynx and stomach.

There were 497 deaths in 2023 where asbestosis was mentioned on the death certificate, excluding cases where mesothelioma was also mentioned. In around 40 per cent of these cases, asbestosis was given as the underlying cause of death. Deaths from asbestosis in those below the age of 65 have been falling since the 1980s, but deaths at age 75 and above have been increasing, indicating that people born more recently have tended to experience lower levels of asbestos exposure. Some of the asbestosis deaths in recent years may have occurred earlier than they otherwise would because of the COVID-19 pandemic.