Mortality, causes of death

The mortality statistics survey the number of deaths, the cause of death statistics survey the causes behind these (see "specific causes of death"). Following a long stable phase, the number of deaths has increased again since the mid 2000s. In contrast, the standardised mortality rate continues to fall and has more than halved since 1970.

Mortality

Year	Number of deaths		Standardised mortality rate1
	Men	Women	Men	Women
2017	32 406	34 565	513	349
2016	31 283	33 681	508	352
2015	32 646	34 960	547	367
2014	30 950	32 988	534	356
2013	31 257	33 704	555	371

1 Standardised mortality rate by age per 100,000 inhabitants Source: BEVNAT, CoD

Continuous registration of deaths

On the basis of the weekly numbers of death, periods with excess mortality can be detected. The number of deaths is currently within the limits of the statistically expected values. For information on the method, see the media release below.

• Media release dated 11.5.2015

Number of deaths and mortality rates

For three decades, the annual number of deaths was around 60,000. In recent years, it has increased. In 2012, for the first time over 64,000 deaths were recorded. Whereas the number of deaths of persons aged under 80 is decreasing, the trend is the opposite for persons aged over 80. This can be explained by the increasing number of elderly persons. A continuous decline in the standardised mortality rates by age can be observed with exceptions in the years 1990 and 2015.

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