Injuries are compared with heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease, using 1980 mortality data for the United States, France, Japan, West Germany and the United Kingdom. Emphasis is on premature mortality, measured by a rate of potential years of life lost between ages one and 65. Injuries are the leading cause of male premature mortality, and rank first, or second to cancer, in females. The United States sustains the greatest injury losses of these five countries.