Pakistan, July 2 -- The United States recorded a 4.6% decline in its provisional death rate during 2025, continuing the downward trend seen after the COVID-19 pandemic peak in 2021. The age-adjusted death rate dropped to 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people from 722.1 a year earlier, while heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries remained the country's leading causes of death.

Health officials attributed part of the overall improvement to a continued decline in fatal drug overdoses, which are classified under unintentional injuries. However, influenza and pneumonia deaths increased sharply by 17% to 56,511, making them the eighth leading cause of death after ranking 11th during the previous year.

Officials said the severe 2024-25 flu...