Press Release 28.09.2012

MORTALITY STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (EDEF) 1ST QUARTER 2012

Deaths increased by 11.3% in the first quarter of 2012 in the Basque Country

The number of women who died exceeded the number of men for the first time

In the first quarter of 2012 the number of deaths in the Basque Country stood at 5,831, 11.3% up on the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. By province, in Álava 703 individuals died, an increase of 4.5%; 3281 in Bizkaia (14.4%) and 1847 en Gipuzkoa (8.8%). By sex, 2880 men and 2951 women died, which translates as increases of 7.1% and 15.7%.

The main causes of death were circulatory system diseases and tumours, which caused the deaths of 1704 and 1577 individuals, respectively, which together as a whole accounted for 56% of deaths.

As a third cause of death were respiratory diseases, which caused 646 deaths, (11%), and fourth place was occupied by diseases of the digestive system, which in the months of January, February and March caused 242 deaths (4%).

Deaths by diseases of the respiratory system increased by 20%

The winter months are traditionally characterised for being those that account for the greatest number of deaths, with respiratory diseases normally registering the greatest increases compared to the other quarters. Following in this vein, during the first quarter of 2012 646 individuals lost their lives due to these illnesses, 19.9% up on the same quarter of the previous year (539 deaths) and 46.5% more than the preceding quarter (441 deaths).

The cause of death continues to vary according to sex: amongst men, tumours caused more deaths than diseases of the circulatory system, whilst amongst women the main cause of death was cardiovascular disease, followed by tumours. Diseases of the respiratory system remained the third cause of death for both sexes.

Amongst the deaths that occurred in this first quarter, 11 corresponded to children under the age of 1, 6 girls and 5 boys.

Population growth in the Basque Country in the first quarter of 2012 was negative, with a population decrease of 912. Álava was the only province to experience an increase; its population grew by 85 inhabitants. In Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa the population was down given that the number of deaths exceeded the number of births by 827 and 170, respectively.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel: +34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Martín González Hernández Tel:+34-945-01 75 49 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 Further press releases on MORTALITY STATISTICS of the Basque Country Databank on the Mortality Statistics of the Basque Country