Press Release 16/05/2022

DEATH STATISTICS. IV/2021

Deaths decreased by 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2021 in the Basque Country

In 2021 as a whole, deaths fell by 4.8% in respect of 2020 and there were 1,666 deaths due to COVID-19 compared to the 3,096 deaths the previous year

In the fourth quarter of 2021 the number of deaths in the Basque Country stood at 6,111, 2.8% down on the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. In this quarter there were 173 fewer deaths in respect of the same quarter of 2020, but 854 more than the average for the previous 10 years, between 2010 and 2019.. This decrease in respect of 2020 was due, primarily, to the fact that deaths due to COVID-19 were down by 73%. However, deaths due to causes other than COVID-19 increased by 10.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021 in respect of the same period of 2020.

By province, of particular note was Gipuzkoa where deaths were down 7.5% this quarter in respect of the same quarter of the previous year; in Bizkaia the decrease was 0.6% and in Álava there was an increase of 1.3%. By sex, 3,110 women and 3,001 men died, which was an increase of 0.8% for women and a decrease of 6.2% for men.

Amongst the deaths that occurred in this quarter, 6 corresponded to children under 1 year of age and 100 to centenarians.

The main causes of death were circulatory system diseases and tumours, which caused the deaths of 1,701 and 1,589 individuals, respectively, which mean that together they accounted for 53.8% of deaths. As a third cause of death was diseases of the respiratory system, with 426 cases (7%). Diseases of the nervous system and the digestive system accounted for 6.8% and 5% of deaths, respectively.

The causes of the deaths still varied according to gender: among men, tumours were the leading cause of death (31.1%) and diseases of the circulatory system were the second (25.9%); among women, the opposite occurred: diseases of the circulatory system (29.7%) were the main cause of death, whereas tumours (21.1%) were the second.

There were 261 deaths due to COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of 2021, 73% down on the same period of the previous year

In the fourth quarter there were 261 due to COVID-19, equating to 4.3% of the total. They fall into 2 groups: 257 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 4 probable COVID-19 deaths; 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 Gipuzkoa, with 128, followed by Bizkaia with 109 and Álava with 24. As regards the capitals, Bilbao stands out with 29 deaths caused by COVID-19, followed by San Sebastián with 24 and Vitoria-Gasteiz with 17. Also of note were Irun, with 11 deaths, and Barakaldo with 10.

The number of deaths of men (151) exceeded that of women (110), while in terms of age, it is worth noting that 90.8% of the deaths caused by COVID-19 occurred among those over 60 years of age and 55.9% among people aged over 80.

The majority of these deaths occurred in Basque hospitals (85.8%), followed by at home (9.2%).

BALANCE FOR 2021

The provisional data totals for 2021 recorded 23,073 deaths, of which 11,563 were men and 11510 were women. The number of deaths decreased 4.8% compared to 2020. By province this percentage was 9.1% in Álava, 5.7% in Bizkaia and 1.6% in Gipuzkoa. It is worth noting that there was a 7% increase in deaths in respect of 2019.

Amongst the deaths that occurred last year, 35 corresponded to children under one year of age. This was lower than in 2020, when 39 children under one year of age died. On the other hand, 336 people died at the age of 100 or over, 4 more than in 2020.

With provisional data from 2021, population growth in the Basque Country was negative with deaths exceeding births by 8,826 individuals. By province, for this reason the population decreased by 5,543 inhabitants in Bizkaia, 2,682 in Gipuzkoa and 601 in Álava.

In 2021 there were a total of 1,666 deaths due to COVID-19, as compared to 3,096 in the previous year. Amongst these, 1,631 were confirmed by a specific analysis, while 35 were diagnosed as likely cases of COVID-19.

It should be pointed out that COVID-19 was present in a further 159 individuals who died in these same months, but it was not the main cause of death according to the death certificates and applying the World Health Organisation criteria for coding causes of death. Furthermore, 389 of those who died in 2021 had COVID-19 although the infection was considered to be over at the point of death.

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