Noncommunicable Diseases Kill 1.3 Million a Year in Indonesia

Noncommunicable Diseases Cause 1.3 Million Deaths a Year

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are Indonesia's deadliest silent killer. According to 2025 World Health Organization (WHO) data, around 1.378 million deaths from noncommunicable diseases occur in Indonesia every year — equivalent to 53 percent of all deaths in a year.

The figure was presented by the head of Indonesia's Food and Drug Authority (BPOM), Taruna Ikrar, at the 2026 Patient Safety Day commemoration at Pelita Harapan University in Tangerang, Banten, on 1 October 2026. "There are 1.378 million deaths from noncommunicable diseases. This is not worldwide — this is in Indonesia," he said.

The dominant NCDs are hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and obesity. Citing Indonesia's 2023 Health Survey (SKI), hypertension prevalence among those aged 18 and above reached 30.8 percent, diabetes among those 15 and above reached 11.7 percent, and obesity among those 18 and above reached 23.4 percent. Alarmingly, these diseases are increasingly striking younger age groups.

2026 Free Health Check Finds 7.13 Million Hypertension Cases

Findings from the 2026 Free Health Check (CKG) program confirm the scale of the NCD burden. Indonesia's Health Ministry (Kemenkes) recorded that of 73.1 million participants screened, 7.13 million were detected with hypertension and another 7.25 million were in a pre-hypertension condition. Diabetes findings reached 1.19 million cases, while 2.49 million people were in a pre-diabetes condition.

More worryingly, many of these findings have not been followed up with treatment. Of 9.2 million participants previously recorded as healthy, around 1 million are now detected with hypertension. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reminded that hypertension and diabetes often show no symptoms in their early stages, making regular health checks key to early detection before they develop into complications.

Stroke and Heart Disease Top Causes of Death

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin named stroke as the number one cause of death in Indonesia, followed by heart disease in second place, cancer third, and kidney disease fourth. Stroke, heart, and kidney disease alone — mainly caused by hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol — account for around 750,000 deaths per year.

Health Ministry data also shows heart disease causes around 260,000 deaths per year, making it the second-highest cause of death after stroke. Heart disease prevalence is rising among productive and elderly age groups: 1.3 percent in the 35–44 age group and 2.4 percent in the 45–54 group.

How to Prevent Noncommunicable Diseases

Taruna Ikrar warned that noncommunicable diseases are especially dangerous because patients generally live with them for life. Prevention is therefore the most important step, through consistent healthy living. The measures are simple: regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy diet, avoiding cigarettes and alcohol, keeping an ideal body weight, managing stress, and getting enough sleep.

Regular health checks are another vital defense. Through the CKG program, people can learn about their blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol early, and medicines for these conditions are available free of charge at community health centers (Puskesmas) as advised by health workers. The minister stressed these diseases can be prevented as long as people are willing to get checked regularly and follow up on the results.