Press Release 19/02/2014
The number of deaths in the Basque Country increased by 2.3% in 2012
Deaths amongst individuals aged 100 or over increased to 289 in 2012
The number of deaths in the Basque Country rose to 20,281 in 2012, an increase of 2.3% compared to 2011, according to Eustat data. By sex, there were 10,352 male deaths and 9,929 female deaths. Broken down by month, February was the month with the highest number of deaths (2,075), whilst July registered the lowest number (1,441).
In 2012, 289 people over the age of 100 died, of which 81% were women. The number of deaths amongst centenarians has gradually increased in recent years, until reaching its historic high in 2012.
The average age of women who died was 82.7, whilst the average age of men was 75.4
The average age of people who died in 2012 was 78.9 years of age, a figure that stood at 75.6 in 2002, which is to say that the average age has increased by 3.3 years over the course of the last ten years.
By sex, the average age at death amongst men in 2012 was 75.4 years of age, whilst the average age amongst women stood at 82.7. In 2002, the average ages were 71.9 and 79.9, respectively. Thus, over the course of the last 10 years, the average lifespan of men has increased by 3.5 years, and that of women, by 2.8 years.
Population growth was positive, as there were 252 more births than deaths. By territory, positive balances were registered in Álava and Gipuzkoa, where the population rose by 772 and 384, respectively. By contrast, in Bizkaia, the number of deaths was greater than the number of births, thereby producing a negative balance (-904).
As regards child mortality, there were 54 deaths of children under one year of age in the Basque Country. Mortality amongst newborns, occurring within the first 28 days of life, produced 36 deaths: 8 of these deaths were during the first 24 hours and another 16 in the first week. Within deaths amongst children below the age of 1, girls accounted for 53.7% of the total.
58.6% of deaths were the result of tumours and diseases of the circulatory system
30.3% of the deaths that occurred in 2012 (6,149 deaths) were the result of tumours, followed by deaths resulting from diseases of the circulatory system, which accounted for 28.3% of the total (5,736 deaths) and, at a distant third, by deaths resulting from respiratory diseases, which accounted for 9.4% of the total (1,915 deaths). The prevalence of these three groups of illnesses that were responsible for the highest number of deaths has varied over the course of the last 10 years. Whilst deaths resulting from tumours rose by 12.5%, those attributable to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases fell by 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
The cause of death continued 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.
Furthermore, the cause of death varied in accordance with age. Amongst those aged under one, the most frequent causes of death were illnesses originating in the perinatal period and congenital malformations; amongst those aged up to 40, the majority of deaths were attributable to external causes, including accidents and suicides; amongst those aged between 40 and 80, tumours were the highest cause of death, whilst amongst those aged 80 years or over, diseases of the circulatory system were the most frequent cause of death.
The number of deaths caused by heart attacks dropped by 33.7% in the last decade
Within the circulatory diseases group, attention should be drawn to the fact that the number of deaths resulting from heart attacks have gradually fallen. In 2002, 849 people died and in 2012 the number stood at 563, which was a decrease of 33.7%.
Alzheimer's disease caused 673 deaths in 2012
The groups of illnesses that cause death showing the highest increase over the course of the last decade were mental disorders and diseases affecting the nervous system. Over the course of the last ten years, deaths resulting from dementia increased by 72.5% (1,202 deaths in 2012) and, within degenerative diseases, deaths attributable to Alzheimer’s disease increased by 55.1%.
Amongst the deaths caused by Alzheimer's, 73.7% corresponded to women (496 deaths in 2012) and the remaining 26.3% to men (177 deaths in 2012).
Deaths due to traffic accidents continued to fall and suicides were the main external cause of death
The fall in the deaths attributable to traffic accidents in the 2002-2012 decade proved so extensive (70.3%) that in 2012, suicide was the main external cause of death. In fact, deaths caused by traffic accidents stood at 80 compared to 180 due to suicide. Specifically, the number of suicides increased by 4.7% compared to 172 in 2011.
Within external causes of death, there was a higher incidence of male deaths in comparison to female deaths. Thus, deaths by suicide affected 133 men compared to 47 women. As regards deaths by traffic accidents, 60 corresponded to men, compared to 20 women.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
Further press releases on MORTALITY STATISTICS of the Basque Country
Databank on the Mortality Statistics of the Basque Country