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Press Release 30/09/2016

DEATH STATISTICS I/2016

Deaths fell by 12.9% in the first quarter of 2016

Deaths dropped in all three provinces

In the first quarter of 2016 the number of deaths in the Basque Country stood at 5,674, 12.9% down on the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. This decrease brings the death figures back to the 2014 level, following the significant increase seen in winter last year.

By province, in Álava there were 707 deaths, in Bizkaia there were 3,101 and in Gipuzkoa 1,866 people died. By sex, 2,851 men and 2,823 women died, which translate as decreases of 10.6% and 15.1%, respectively.

The main causes of death were tumours and circulatory system diseases, which caused the deaths of 1,558 and 1,624 individuals, respectively, which mean that together they accounted for 56.1% of the total. The third cause was respiratory disease, which resulted in 640 deaths (11.3%).

Deaths by diseases of the respiratory system were down by 25.3%

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. However, during the first quarter of 2016, 640 individuals died from these illnesses, 25.3% down on the same quarter of the previous year (857 deaths), and going back to the 2014 level.

Diseases affecting the nervous system, including Alheimer's and Parkinson's, caused 196 deaths in the months of January, February and March, 7.7% more than in the same quarter of the previous year.

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 order was inversed: the main cause of death was cardiovascular disease, followed by tumours in second place. Diseases of the respiratory system remained the third cause of death for both sexes.

Amongst the deaths that occurred in this first quarter, 4 corresponded to children under 1 year of age – 2 girls and 2 boys.

Population growth in the Basque Country in the first quarter of 2016 was negative, with a population decrease of 1,148. The population declined in two of the three provinces: by 777 people in Bizkaia and 444 in Gipuzkoa. Álava, on the other hand, saw a net increase of 73 people.

Table 1: Deaths in the Basque Country by sex, according to the cause of death. Quarterly comparison
Source: Eustat. Death statistics