In the A.C of the Basque Country 4,997 people died during the fourth quarter of 2007 which is 9% more than in the fourth quarter of 2006 according to Eustat data. By province, there were 577 deaths in Álava, 2,823 in Bizkaia and 1,597 in Gipuzkoa.

The provisional death count for 2007 reached 18,616 of which 9,623 were men and 8,993 were women. There were 719 more deaths registered this year than last year with respect to provisional data, resulting in a 4% increase.

The majority if deaths in 2007 were caused by tumours, with 5,684 people dying for this reason (30.5%) The second greatest cause of death was diseases of the circulatory system at 29.4% (5,486 deaths) and the third place was held by respiratory illnesses which caused 9.6% (1,793) of total deaths.

The cause of death varied between the sexes. For men, tumours caused 13 percentage points more deaths than diseases of the circulatory system while among women the major cause of death was cardiovascular disease and then tumours.

Of all the deaths in 2007 there were 82 that were under one year of age; 43 boys and 39 girls. On the other hand, 162 people died who were older than 100 years of age; 21 men and 141 women.

According to provisional data from 2007 births outnumbered deaths by 1,863 people, resulting in positive natural growth for the A.C of the Basque Country. In Álava and Gipuzkoa natural growth was shown at 704 and 1,072 respectively. In Bizkaia the number of births was greater than deaths by a mere 87 people, maintaining positive natural growth for the second year in a row, something that has not happened since 1989.

Table 1. Deaths in the A.C. of Euskadi by sex, according to cause of death. Quarterly comparison.

Source: EUSTAT