Press Release 17/11/2016
The number of deaths in the Basque Country increased by 6.7% in 2015
The rate of natural increase was negative, with 2,658 fewer births than deaths
The number of deaths in the Basque Country was 21,509 in 2015, an increase of 6.7% compared to 2014, according to Eustat data. There were 10,764 male deaths and 10,745 female deaths. Broken down by month, January registered the highest number of deaths (2,288), whilst September registered the lowest number (1,560).
In 2015, 344 people over the age of 100 died, of which 81.7% were women. The number of deaths amongst centenarians has gradually increased in recent years, until reaching its historic high in 2015.
The average age of women who died was 83.2, whilst the average age of men was 76.6
The average age of people who died in 2015 was 79.9 years of age, whereas ten years before, in 2005, the figure stood at 76.8, 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 2015 was 76.6 years of age, whilst the average age amongst women stood at 83.2. In 2005, the average ages were 73 and 81.1, respectively. Thus, over the course of the last 10 years, the average age at death of men has increased by 3.6 years, and that of women by 2.1 years.
The rate of natural increase was negative, as there were 2,658 fewer births than deaths. By territory, negative balances were registered in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, where the population fell by 2,479 and 571, respectively. By contrast, in Álava, the number of deaths was lower than the number of births, thereby producing a positive balance by 392 people.
As regards child mortality, there were 51 deaths of children under one year of age in the Basque Country. Mortality amongst newborns, occurring within the first 28 days of life, registered 32 deaths, 7 of which were during the first 24 hours and another 11 in the first week. Within deaths amongst children below the age of 1, girls accounted for 51% of the total.
56.6% of deaths were the result of tumours and diseases of the circulatory system
29.7% of the deaths that occurred in 2015 (6,379 deaths) were the result of tumours, followed by deaths resulting from diseases of the circulatory system, which accounted for 26.9% of the total (5,788 deaths) and, at a distant third, by deaths resulting from respiratory diseases, which accounted for 9.9% of the total (2,119 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 16.8%, those attributable to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases fell by 1.7% and 4.3%, 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, it was diseases of the circulatory system.
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