Press Release 24/11/2021

DEATH STATISTICS. II/2021

Deaths in the Basque Country decreased by 10.8% in the second quarter of 2021

5.9% of deaths were caused by COVID-19

In the second quarter of 2021 the number of deaths in the Basque Country stood at 5,415, 10.8% down on the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. This is due to the higher mortality in 2020 as a result of COVID-19, of particular note was the month of April as the number of deaths was 33.9% down on 2020. If we compare the average of deaths in the second quarters in the period between 2010 and 2019, mortality in 2021 is 11.1% higher.

Deaths were down in the Bizkaia and Álava, being particularly significant the decrease in Bizkaia, where it reached 16.6%, 2,883 people. In Álava, the decrease in the number of deaths was 10.5%, with 721 deaths, and in Gipuzkoa there were 1,811 deaths, the same figure as in the second quarter of 2020. By sex, 2,734 men and 2,681 women died, which was a decrease of 6.2% for men and 15.1% for women.

Amongst the deaths that occurred in this second quarter, 7 corresponded to children under 1 year of age (0.1%) and 64 to centenarians (1.1%).

The main causes of death were tumours and circulatory system diseases, which caused the deaths of 1,569 and 1,344 individuals, respectively, which means that together they accounted for 53.8% of deaths. As a third cause of death were diseases of the nervous system, which resulted in 320 deaths (5.9%). COVID-19 was the fourth cause with 318 deaths (5.9%).

The cause of death continued to vary according to sex. Among men, tumours caused more deaths than diseases of the circulatory system, whilst among women the main cause of death was diseases of the circulatory system, followed by tumours in second place.

Population growth in the Basque Country in the second quarter of 2021 was negative, with a population decrease of 1,892. The population decreased in the three provinces: by 1,146 people in Bizkaia, 602 in Gipuzkoa and 144 in Álava.

There were 318 deaths as a result of COVID-19 in the second quarter of 2021

COVID-19 caused a total of 318 deaths (1,241 in the same quarter of 2020), classified in two groups: 317 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 1 probable COVID-19 death; there were a further 31 deaths in which COVID-19 was among the certified causes of death, but without being the main cause.

By province, the highest figure corresponded to Bizkaia, with 170, followed by Gipuzkoa with 111 and Álava with 37. As regards the capitals, Bilbao stands out with 84 deaths caused by COVID-19, followed by Vitoria-Gasteiz with 29 and San Sebastián with 26. Other noteworthy municipalities are Getxo and Barakaldo, with 11 deaths each.

The number of deaths of men (180) exceeded those of women (138), while, by age, the most affected groups were those aged between 70 and 79 (107), followed by those aged 80-89 (93).

The majority of these deaths occurred in Basque hospitals (89%, 56.4% in the second quarter of 2020), followed by residential care homes (1.9%, 39% in the second quarter of 2020) and at home (9.1%, 4.2% in the second quarter of 2020).

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