Press Release 16/11/2015
The number of deaths in the Basque Country increased by 2.4% in 2014
Over the last decade the average life expectancy increased by 4 years for men and by 2 years for women
The number of deaths in the Basque Country was 20,157 in 2014, an increase of 2.4% compared to 2013, according to Eustat data. There were 10,177 male deaths and 9,980 female deaths. Broken down by month, January registered the highest number of deaths (2,037), whilst September registered the lowest number (1,475).
In 2014, 326 people over the age of 100 died, of which 88.3% were women. The number of deaths amongst centenarians has gradually increased in recent years, until reaching its historic high in 2014.
The average age of women who died was 82.6, whilst the average age of men was 76.2
The average age of people who died in 2014 was 79.3 years of age, whereas ten years before, in 2004, the figure stood at 76.2, meaning that the average age has risen by 3.1 years over the course of the last ten years.
The average age at death amongst men in 2014 was 76.2 years of age, whilst the average age amongst women stood at 82.6. In 2004, the average ages were 72.2 and 80.6, respectively. Thus, over the course of the last 10 years, the average lifespan of men has increased by 4 years, and that of women by 2 years.
The rate of natural increase was negative, as there were 779 fewer births than deaths. By territory, negative balances were registered in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, where the population fell by 1,415 and 164, respectively. By contrast, in Álava, the number of deaths was lower than the number of births, thereby producing a positive balance by 800 people.
As regards child mortality, there were 43 deaths of children under one year of age in the Basque Country. Mortality amongst newborns, occurring within the first 28 days of life, registered 29 deaths, 5 of which were during the first 24 hours and another 12 in the first week. Within deaths amongst children below the age of 1, girls accounted for 53.5% of the total.
58.3% of deaths were the result of tumours and diseases of the circulatory system
31.6% of the deaths that occurred in 2014 (6,360 deaths) were the result of tumours, followed by deaths resulting from diseases of the circulatory system, which accounted for 26.7% of the total (5,388 deaths) and, at a distant third, by deaths resulting from respiratory diseases, which accounted for 9.3% of the total (1,868 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 decade: whilst deaths resulting from tumours and respiratory diseases rose by 16.1% and 4.5% respectively, those attributable cardiovascular diseases fell by 6.7%.
The cause of death continued to vary according to gender: 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 a third 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 2004, 784 people died from this cause whereas in 2014 the number stood at 531, which was a decrease of 32.3%.
Alzheimer's disease caused 696 deaths in 2014
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 52% (1,192 deaths in 2014) and, within degenerative diseases, deaths attributable to Alzheimer’s disease increased by 42%.
Amongst the deaths caused by Alzheimer's, 69.8% corresponded to women (486 deaths in 2014) and the remaining 30.2% to men (210 deaths in 2014).
Deaths due to traffic accidents continued to fall leaving suicides as the main external cause of death
The fall in the deaths attributable to traffic accidents in the 2004-2014 decade proved so extensive (74.4%) that over the last year, suicide was the main external cause of death. In fact, deaths caused by traffic accidents stood at 50 compared to 186 due to suicide. Specifically, the number of suicides increased by 8.8% compared to 171 in 2004.
Within external causes of death, there was a higher incidence of male deaths in comparison to female deaths; thus, deaths by suicide affected 123 men compared to 63 women, and as regards deaths by traffic accidents, 37 were men, compared to 13 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 death statistics of the Basque Country
Databank on the death statistics of the Basque Country