Press Release 25/11/2019

DEATH STATISTICS. II/2019

In the second quarter of 2019, 5,052 people died, of which 54 were over 100 years old

Almost two thirds of deaths were of people aged over 80

In the second quarter of 2019 the figure for deaths in the Basque Country stood at 5,052, which was 0.8% up on the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. By province, Gipuzkoa, with 1,532 deaths, recorded a decrease of 4.2%. In Bizkaia and Álava, where 2,847 and 673 people died, there was an increase of 1.5% and 10.5% respectively.

According to distribution by sex, men accounted for 50.6% and women the remaining 49.4%. 64.8% of people who died were over 80 years of age and 82.1% over 70, although these data were different for men and women. Thus, 75.7% of the deceased women were over 80 compared to 54.1% of the men. It is worth mentioning that, of the deceased between 40 and 69 years of age, 65.7% were men and 34.2% were women. Finally, of the 54 people who died at the age of 100 or more, 44 were women and only 10 were men.

Amongst the deaths that occurred in the second quarter of 2019, 12 corresponded to children under the age of one, 6 boys and 6 girls.

The main causes of death were tumours and circulatory system diseases, which caused the deaths of 1,517 and 1,315 individuals, respectively, which mean that together they accounted for 56.0% of deaths. The third cause of death was respiratory diseases, which resulted in 428 deaths (8.5%).

Diseases affecting the nervous system, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, caused 354 deaths in the months of April, May and June, 8.3% more than in the same quarter of the previous year.

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. Diseases of the respiratory system were the third cause of death for both sexes.

Population growth was negative in the spring of 2019, with the population of the Basque Country decreasing by 1,353. There were negative balances in the three provinces: in Bizkaia there were 979 fewer inhabitants; in Gipuzkoa 298; and in Álava, 76.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel.: 945 01 75 62