Australia has the highest cancer rates in the world.
Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026
The claim that Australia has the highest cancer rates is supported for incidence, the standard meaning of 'cancer rates': GLOBOCAN 2024 (published July 2026) and Cancer Australia's national indicators both place Australia/New Zealand at the top.
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What was said
… Look at him on the left. Look at the side of his face. That is fucking insane. We're hitting a precipice right now because, you know, the top issue in Iowa right now is that they have the highest cancer rates in the world. So, you know, this is happening. Australia has the highest cancer rates in the world. Any geographic location in the history of human civilization across the world, Iowa and Kentucky and other U.S. …
The Joe Rogan Experience · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The GLOBOCAN 2024 estimates, published by IARC and reported in a 2026 primary source, report the highest incidence rates in Australia/New Zealand (men 477 and women 396 per 100,000).[3]
Supports. Cancer Australia's National Cancer Control Indicators state that in 2022 Australia had the highest age-standardized incidence rate for all cancers combined among selected developed countries (322.4 per 100,000).[4]
Supports. The American Cancer Society's 2026 global statistics report says the highest cancer incidence rates are observed in Australia/New Zealand, and the WCRF country table ranks Australia first by age-standardized rate.[5][6]
Contradicts. A 2026 Conversation article states Australia has the third-highest cancer rate behind Denmark and France. It is an unrated source with no stated measure, so it does not outweigh the primary incidence data.[7]
Context. The Reuters and Full Fact fact-checks concern Israel's skin cancer ranking and confirm that Australia and New Zealand top the melanoma rankings.[1][2]
Context. Mortality rates differ from incidence: GLOBOCAN reports the highest mortality in Eastern Europe (men) and Melanesia (women), so the claim holds only on the incidence measure.[3]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 4 not rated
- 1Fact Check: Israel does not have the world's second highest skin cancer ratereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Latest Articles – Full Factfullfact.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Global cancer statistics 2024: GLOBOCAN estimates of ... - PMCpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 4Cancer incidence - National Cancer Control Indicatorsncci.canceraustralia.gov.au · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Global Cancer Statistics, 2026pressroom.cancer.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Global cancer data by country | World Cancer Research Fundwcrf.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Cancer: the world's biggest killertheconversation.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post