(Poor countries, by contrast, have seen an increasing death toll, as car sales have accelerated).
Some government officials have disputed the WHO's statement, saying the increasing death toll is a sign of better surveillance.
This was largely due, according to the authors, to "increasing death rates from drug and alcohol poisonings, suicide, and chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis".
Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan continues to face political fallout from the increasing death toll ahead of this month's too-close-to-call election.
By blaming Pakistan, Cameron not only fed India's national paranoia about Pakistan, but also shifted the focus away from Kashmir and the increasing death rate of its civilian population, which otherwise might have received some media attention.
The disappearance of the Bradford families is the latest evidence of the steady trickle of Britons managing to leave the country to join Islamist extremist groups, some of whom are added to an increasing death toll.
