Press Release 12/01/2016
In the second quarter of 2016 deaths increased by 0.4% in the Basque Country
Almost two thirds of deaths were of people aged over 80
In the second quarter of 2016 the figure for deaths in the Basque Country stood at 4,979, which was a rise of 0.4% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. By province, both in Álava, with 653 deaths, and Bizkaia, with 2,838, there were significant increases (5.5% and 2.9% respectively), whilst in Gipuzkoa, where 1,488 people died, there was a drop of 6.1%.
According to distribution by sex, men accounted for 50.8% and women the remaining 49.2%. In all, almost two thirds of the deaths (63.9%) corresponded to people over 80 years old, but the percentage rose to 75.5% among women, and dropped 52.7% for men. Of the 62 people who died at the age of 100 or more, 51 were women and only 11 were men.
Amongst the deaths that occurred in the second quarter of 2016, 7 corresponded to children under the age of one, one boy and 6 girls.
The main causes of death were tumours and circulatory system diseases, which caused the deaths of 1,523 and 1,367 individuals, respectively, which mean that together they accounted for 58.1% of deaths. As a third cause of death were respiratory diseases, which resulted in 440 deaths (8,8%).
Diseases of the nervous system, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, saw the largest increase with respect to the same quarter of the previous year, at 3.7%.
As in previous quarters, the cause of deaths differed 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. The third most common cause of death for men were respiratory diseases, whereas for women, it was diseases of the nervous system.
Population growth was negative in the spring of 2016, with the population of the Basque Country decreasing by 495. There were negative balances in two of the three provinces: in Bizkaia there were 541 fewer inhabitants and in Gipuzkoa 24; in Álava, on the other hand, the balance was positive (+70).
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