The systematic international recording of information about mortality and morbidity from disease begins with the Health Section of the League of Nations established in the aftermath of the Great War. To promote comparability of recording between nations, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been developed. The origins of this classification system are discussed in Benjamin (1968, pp. 8–86). The first edition of the ICD list was prepared by the International Statistical Institute, and it appeared in 1911 under the title International List of Causes of Death. Revisions have appeared roughly decennially to keep abreast of advances in medical science. The tenth edition (1992) is currently used. Initially, the list formed a basis for the recording of mortality data alone, but it was extended to cover morbidity from 1948 when responsibility for revision of the list was passed from the International Statistical Institute to the World Health Organization. From that date, the ICD list has been entitled International Statistical Classification of Disease, Injuries, and Causes of Death.

The following list gives the major sources of international epidemiological data and associated information. It is arranged historically.

League of Nations

The first meeting of the Health Committee of the Health Section of the League of Nations took place in August 1921 to consider ‘the question of organising means of more rapid interchange of epidemiological information’. To meet this need, a series of publications were instituted and are described below.