Cervical Cancer: Statistics

Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 09/2023

ON THIS PAGE: You will find information about the estimated number of people who will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. You will also read general information on surviving the disease. Remember, survival rates depend on several factors, and no 2 people with cancer are the same. Use the menu to see other pages. 

Every person is different, with different factors influencing their risk of being diagnosed with this cancer and the chance of recovery after a diagnosis. It is important to talk with your doctor about any questions you have around the general statistics provided below and what they may mean for you individually. The original sources for these statistics are provided at the bottom of this page.  

How many people are diagnosed with cervical cancer? 

In 2023, an estimated 13,960 women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. Worldwide, an estimated 604,127 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2020. 

Incidence rates of cervical cancer dropped by more than 50% from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s due in part to an increase in screening, which can find cervical changes before they turn cancerous. Since 2012, incidence rates have generally remained the same overall. However, in the same timeframe, there was an 11% decrease in incidence rates per year in women ages 20 to 24. This is likely due to the use of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (see Risk Factors). 

It is estimated that 4,310 deaths from this disease will occur in the United States in 2023. Similar to the incidence rates, the death rate in the United States dropped by around 50% since the mid-1970s, partly because the increase in screening resulted in earlier detection of cervical cancer. However, the death rate is 65% higher in Black women than in White women, even though both groups self-report similar screening efforts. The death rate has been declining by less than 1% each year since the early 2000s. In 2020, an estimated 341,831 women worldwide died from cervical cancer. 

Cervical cancer is most often diagnosed between the ages of 35 and 44. The average age of diagnosis in the United States is 50. Over 20% of cervical cancers are diagnosed after age 65. These cases usually occur in people who did not receive regular cervical cancer screenings before age 65. It is rare for people younger than 20 to develop cervical cancer. 

What is the survival rate for cervical cancer? 

There are different types of statistics that can help doctors evaluate a person’s chance of recovery from cervical cancer. These are called survival statistics. A specific type of survival statistic is called the relative survival rate. It is often used to predict how having cancer may affect life expectancy. Relative survival rate looks at how likely people with cervical cancer are to survive for a certain amount of time after their initial diagnosis or start of treatment compared to the expected survival of similar people without this cancer.  

Example: Here is an example to help explain what a relative survival rate means. Please note this is only an example and not specific to this type of cancer. Let’s assume that the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific type of cancer is 90%. “Percent” means how many out of 100. Imagine there are 1,000 people without cancer, and based on their age and other characteristics, you expect 900 of the 1,000 to be alive in 5 years. Also imagine there are another 1,000 people similar in age and other characteristics as the first 1,000, but they all have the specific type of cancer that has a 5-year survival rate of 90%. This means it is expected that 810 of the people with the specific cancer (90% of 900) will be alive in 5 years.  

It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with cervical cancer are only an estimate. They cannot tell an individual person if cancer will or will not shorten their life. Instead, these statistics describe trends in groups of people previously diagnosed with the same disease, including specific stages of the disease. 

The 5-year relative survival rate for all stages of cervical cancer in the U.S. is 67%. 

The survival rates for cervical cancer vary based on several factors. These include the stage of cancer, a person’s age and general health, and how well the treatment plan works. Other factors that can affect outcomes include race and ethnicity.  

For White women, the 5-year relative survival rate is 67%. For Black women, the 5-year relative survival rate is 56%. Older women also have lower survival rates. Women who are 65 or older have a 46% relative survival rate, while women between ages 50 to 64 have a 61% relative survival rate. Women under 50 have a 77% relative survival rate.  

When detected at an early stage, the 5-year relative survival rate for people with invasive cervical cancer is 92%. About 44% of people with cervical cancer are diagnosed at an early stage. If cervical cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year relative survival rate is 59%. If the cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year relative survival rate is 17%. 

Experts measure relative survival rate statistics for cervical cancer every 5 years. This means the estimate may not reflect the results of advancements in how cervical cancer is diagnosed or treated from the last 5 years. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society's (ACS) publications, Cancer Facts & Figures 2023 and Cancer Facts & Figures 2020; the ACS website; and the International Agency for Research on Cancer website. (All sources accessed February 2023.) 

The next section in this guide is Medical Illustrations. It offers drawings of body parts often affected by cervical cancer. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.