This article, part of the series "The Global Burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" edited by K.F. Rabe and J.B. Soriano, focuses on the current burden and future projections of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The authors estimate the burden of COPD using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, which assesses premature mortality and nonfatal illness due to various diseases and injuries. The study uses disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure the overall disease burden, combining years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). The article highlights that approximately 2.7 million deaths from COPD occurred in 2000, with half of these deaths in the Western Pacific Region, particularly in China. The increase in global COPD deaths between 1990 and 2000 is partly due to improved methods and more extensive data availability. The regional prevalence of COPD varied from 0.5% in parts of Africa to 3-4% in North America. The authors describe the methods used to estimate COPD mortality and prevalence, including the use of vital registration data, epidemiological surveillance systems, and community-based studies. They also discuss the challenges in estimating prevalence, such as the progressive nature of the disease and the variability in measurement tools and definitions. The article presents the results of the GBD 2000 Study, which estimated that COPD caused over 26 million DALYs in 2000, or about 2% of the global total. The burden was highest in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, followed by smoking-prevalent regions like Europe and the Americas. For future projections, the authors use a Bayesian age-period-cohort method to project COPD mortality in England and Wales from 2000 to 2009. The projections suggest a median fall in male death rates by 24% and a rise in female death rates by 2%, with wide credible intervals reflecting year-to-year variations in mortality rates. The article emphasizes the importance of considering uncertainty in projections and the limitations of different methods, such as risk factor models and extrapolation methods.This article, part of the series "The Global Burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" edited by K.F. Rabe and J.B. Soriano, focuses on the current burden and future projections of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The authors estimate the burden of COPD using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, which assesses premature mortality and nonfatal illness due to various diseases and injuries. The study uses disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure the overall disease burden, combining years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). The article highlights that approximately 2.7 million deaths from COPD occurred in 2000, with half of these deaths in the Western Pacific Region, particularly in China. The increase in global COPD deaths between 1990 and 2000 is partly due to improved methods and more extensive data availability. The regional prevalence of COPD varied from 0.5% in parts of Africa to 3-4% in North America. The authors describe the methods used to estimate COPD mortality and prevalence, including the use of vital registration data, epidemiological surveillance systems, and community-based studies. They also discuss the challenges in estimating prevalence, such as the progressive nature of the disease and the variability in measurement tools and definitions. The article presents the results of the GBD 2000 Study, which estimated that COPD caused over 26 million DALYs in 2000, or about 2% of the global total. The burden was highest in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, followed by smoking-prevalent regions like Europe and the Americas. For future projections, the authors use a Bayesian age-period-cohort method to project COPD mortality in England and Wales from 2000 to 2009. The projections suggest a median fall in male death rates by 24% and a rise in female death rates by 2%, with wide credible intervals reflecting year-to-year variations in mortality rates. The article emphasizes the importance of considering uncertainty in projections and the limitations of different methods, such as risk factor models and extrapolation methods.