Press Release 26/02/2018
Deaths fell by 7.8% in the third quarter of 2017
Deaths dropped in all three provinces
In the third quarter of 2017 the figure for deaths in the Basque Country stood at 4,680, which was a drop of 7.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. As far as the sex of the people who died was concerned, 2,397 (51.2%) were men and 2,283 (48.8%) were women.
Deaths decreased in the three provinces: in Álava 619 people died, a fall of 6.1%; 2,566 in Bizkaia (-7.6%), and 1,495 in Gipuzkoa (-8.7%).
If we consider the age at the time of death, 21% of the people who died were under 70 years of age, 17% were between 70 and 79, 38% were between 80 and 89, and the remaining 24%, more than 1,135 people, had turned 90.
Amongst the deaths that occurred in the third quarter of 2017, 13 corresponded to children under the age of one, 7 boys and 6 girls.
A third of deaths were due to tumours
The main causes of death were tumours and circulatory system diseases, which caused the deaths of 1,517 and 1,187 individuals, respectively, which meant that together they caused 57.8% of deaths. Respiratory diseases were the third cause of death, accounting for 356 deaths (7.6%).
Diseases of the respiratory system decreased the most, specifically by 14.8%, followed by diseases of the nervous system, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which fell by 11.6% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
As in previous quarters, the cause of deaths differed according to sex: amongst men, tumours (38.7%) caused more deaths than diseases of the circulatory system (24.3%), whilst amongst women the main cause of death was cardiovascular disease (26.5%), followed by tumours (25.8%). Furthermore, the third most common cause of death for men was respiratory diseases (7.9%), whereas for women, it was diseases of the nervous system (8.3%).
Population growth in the Basque Country was negative in the third quarter of 2017, with deaths exceeding births by 258 individuals. By province, only Álava had a positive balance, with its population increasing by 150 people. Regarding Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, their population fell by 362 and 46 inhabitants, respectively.
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