In North Korea, most people die of a stroke

Poor working conditions are the cause of around 1.9 million deaths worldwide every year. This is the conclusion of a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which examined the number of deaths caused by cardiopulmonary diseases, strokes and accidents at work as a result of problematic working conditions.

The data relates to 2016, with employees from Southeast Asian countries particularly affected, as the Statista chart shows.

The number of strokes resulting in death caused by high workloads and long working hours is just under 400,000 people worldwide - more than a third of them from South East Asia. The situation is most serious in North Korea. Here, many people actually work until they drop. Around 28 workers per 100,000 inhabitants die every year as a result of the high level of stress. They often work into old age in order to feed themselves and their families. China records around ten fatal strokes caused by overwork per 100,000 inhabitants every year, compared to just one in Germany.

In addition to long working hours, there are many other inhumane working conditions. According to the WHO report, around 450,000 people die each year as a result of air pollution in the workplace, while traditional workplace accidents cost around 360,000 workers their lives.