The provisional figure for the number of deaths in 2002 is 18,037, of which 9,521 were men and 8,516 women. Not including data referring to deaths of residents of the A.C. of Euskadi which occurred outside the region, there were 550 more registered deaths than in 2001, an increase of 3.1%.

30.5% of the deaths in 2002, numbering 5,505, were due to diseases of the circulatory system. Tumours were the next most numerous cause of death, accounting for 29.6% (5,341 deaths) and, thirdly, considerably lower, were respiratory diseases, which accounted 10.4% (1,873).

The data referring to cause of death reflected differences between the sexes, as in the case of men the incidence of tumours was higher than diseases of the circulatory system, while for women the main causes of death were cardiovascular diseases followed by tumours.

The number of deaths of people aged 100 or more has doubled since 1990

Among the deaths recorded in 2002, 54 corresponded to children under one year of age, 30 of which whom were male and 24 female. On the other hand, a significant increase was observed in the number of people who died aged 100 years or over, rising from 56 in 1990 to 120 (23 men and 97 women).

There were 14 more deaths than births, so that, as has occurred since 1990, the natural population growth of the A.C. of the Basque Country was negative. The provincial breakdown revealed positive balances in Alava and Gipuzkoa, which increased in population by 385 and 380 inhabitants, respectively. By contrast, in Bizkaia, the number of deaths was higher than the number of births (-751).