Press Release 18/07/2023
DEATH STATISTICS. 2022
The 24,194 deaths in the Basque Country in 2022 represented an increase of 4.9%
In 2022, 1,721 deaths were caused by COVID-19, 2.3% more than the previous year
The number of deaths in the Basque Country was 24,194 in 2022, an increase of 4.9% compared to 2021, according to Eustat data. This figure was 12.2% higher than that of 2019, prior to the pandemic, and is lower than that of 2020 by 53 deaths. By province, there were 3,170 deaths in 2022 in Álava, an especially pronounced increase of 6.7% on the last year. There were 13,152 deaths (+5.3%) in Bizkaia and 7,872 in Gipuzkoa (+3.3%).
In 2022 there were significant differences by month in respect to the previous year. Between January and July, mortality increased by 10.2% compared to 2021, with July being especially noteworthy with a 29.6% increase. However, the number of deaths decreased by 0.1% and 2.1% in August and September respectively. In October this increased once more compared to the previous year (+3.8%), but in November and December it decreased again by significant percentages (-6.3% and -5.6% respectively).
The average age of the people who died was 81.3 years old
Considering the total number of deaths in 2022, there were 12,330 female deaths and 11,864 male deaths. The average age of people who died in 2022 was 81.3 years of age, whereas ten years previously in 2012, the figure stood at 78.9, meaning that it has risen by 2.4 years over the course of the last decade
The average age at death amongst men in 2022 was 78.1, whilst the average age amongst women stood at 84.4. In 2012, the average ages were 75.4 and 82.7, respectively. Thus, over the course of the last 10 years, the average age at death of men has increased by 2.7 years, and that of women by 1.7 years.
As regards child mortality, there were 41 deaths of children under one year of age in the Basque Country. Mortality amongst newborns, occurring within the first 28 days of life, registered 30 deaths, 11 of which were during the first 24 hours and another 12 in the first week. Within deaths amongst children below the age of 1, boys accounted for 60.9% of the total.
In 2022, 521 people died at the age of 100 or over (born in 1922 or before), of which 87.3% were women. The number of deaths amongst centenarians increased by 100 in relation to 2021.
Deaths of the Basque Country by provinces, municipality (>40,000 hab.) of residence, sex and age. 2021-2022
| | 2022 | 2021 | Increase (%) |
| Basque Country | 24.194 | 23.073 | 4,9 |
| | | | |
| Historic Territories of Residence | | | |
| Araba/Álava | 3.170 | 2.970 | 6,7 |
| Bizkaia | 13.152 | 12.486 | 5,3 |
| Gipuzkoa | 7.872 | 7.617 | 3,3 |
| | | | |
| Municipality of residence (>40,000 inhabitants) | | | |
| Barakaldo | 1.211 | 1.183 | 2,4 |
| Basauri | 493 | 478 | 3,1 |
| Bilbao | 4.301 | 4.044 | 6,4 |
| Donostia / San Sebastian | 2.207 | 2.067 | 6,8 |
| Getxo | 817 | 780 | 4,7 |
| Irun | 664 | 658 | 0,9 |
| Portugalete | 607 | 585 | 3,8 |
| Santurtzi | 542 | 533 | 1,7 |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz | 2.363 | 2.182 | 8,3 |
| | | | |
| Sex | | | |
| Man | 11.864 | 11.565 | 2,6 |
| Woman | 12.330 | 11.508 | 7,1 |
| | | | |
| Age | | | |
| Aged under 40 | 250 | 223 | 12,1 |
| From 40 to 59 years | 1.547 | 1.556 | -0,6 |
| From 60 to 79 years | 6.769 | 6.448 | 5,0 |
| 80 or older | 15.628 | 14.846 | 5,3 |
Date July 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Death statistics
26.4% of deaths were due to tumours
26.4% of deaths that occurred in 2022 (6,378 deaths) were due to tumours, followed by circulatory system diseases, at 23.8% (5,767 deaths), and lastly, mental and behavioural disorders, at 8.2% (1,988).
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. It is also worth noting that there was a higher percentage of women among deaths caused by mental and behavioural disorders, in contrast to that which occurred with those attributable to external causes, where there was a higher percentage of men.
Furthermore, the cause of death varied 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 from 1 to 39, the majority of deaths were attributable to external causes, including accidents and suicides; amongst those aged between 40 and 79, tumours were the highest cause of death, whilst amongst those aged 80 years or over, it was diseases of the circulatory system.
Deaths of the Basque Country by cause of death, according to age group. 2022
| | Total | Under 1 years | 1 - 19 years | 20 - 39 years | From 40 to 59 years | From 60 to 79 years | 80 or older |
| Total | 24.194 | 41 | 35 | 174 | 1.547 | 6.769 | 15.628 |
| I.Ciertas certain infectious and parasitic diseases | 353 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 99 | 222 |
| II.Tumores tumors (neoplasia) | 6.378 | 1 | 7 | 48 | 736 | 3.000 | 2.586 |
| III.Enfermedades Blood and hematopoietic organ diseases, and certain disorders that affect the inmunity mechanism | 142 | - | - | 1 | 5 | 36 | 100 |
| IV.Enfermedades endocrine, nutritional and metabolical diseases | 749 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 166 | 542 |
| V.Trastornos mental and behavioural disorders | 1.988 | - | - | 2 | 14 | 211 | 1.761 |
| VI.Enfermedades Illnesses of the nervous system | 1.577 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 51 | 397 | 1.110 |
| IX.Enfermedades Illnesses of the circulatory system | 5.767 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 287 | 1.274 | 4.185 |
| X.Enfermedades Illnesses of the respiratory system | 1.553 | - | 2 | 1 | 37 | 360 | 1.153 |
| XI.Enfermedades Diseases of the digestive system | 1.136 | - | 1 | 6 | 80 | 332 | 717 |
| XII.Enfermedades skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases | 96 | - | - | - | - | 12 | 84 |
| XIII.Enfermedades Diseases of the osteo-muscular system and the conjunctive tissue | 312 | - | - | - | - | 37 | 275 |
| XIV.Illnesses of the genitourinary system | 765 | - | - | - | 9 | 128 | 628 |
| XV. Pregnancy, birth and puerperium | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| XVI.Certain affections originating in the perinatal period | 22 | 20 | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| XVII.Congenital malformations, deformities and chromosomic anormalities | 71 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 24 | 8 |
| XVIII.Symtoms, abnormal clinical signs and laboratory findings | 767 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 25 | 64 | 665 |
| XX.External mortality causes | 796 | - | 11 | 65 | 181 | 212 | 327 |
| COVID-19 confirmed | 1.713 | 0 | - | 2 | 39 | 413 | 1.259 |
| COVID-19 probable | 8 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 |
Date July 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Death statistics
The COVID-19 virus was the cause of 7.1% of deaths
In 2022, there were 1,721 deaths where COVID-19 was the main cause, 7.1% of the total. These deaths were classified into 2 groups: those due to COVID-19 confirmed by a specific analysis, of which there were 1,713, and deaths probably due to COVID-19, which were cases not confirmed by analysis but where COVID-19 was the main cause of death on the medical report, of which there were 8. Deaths resulting from this cause were up 2.3% on those recorded in 2021.
Deaths of the Basque Country by provinces, municipality (>40,000 hab.) of residence, sex and age according to causes of death related to COVID-19. 2022
| | Total deaths | Total COVID-19 | COVID-19 confirmed | COVID-19 probable |
| Basque Country | 24.194 | 1.721 | 1.713 | 8 |
| | | | | |
| Historic Territories of Residence | | | | |
| Araba/Álava | 3.170 | 227 | 225 | 2 |
| Bizkaia | 13.152 | 921 | 916 | 5 |
| Gipuzkoa | 7.872 | 573 | 572 | 1 |
| | | | | |
| Municipality of residence (>40,000 inhabitants) | | | | |
| Barakaldo | 1.211 | 75 | 75 | 0 |
| Basauri | 493 | 41 | 40 | 1 |
| Bilbao | 4.301 | 316 | 314 | 2 |
| Donostia / San Sebastian | 2.207 | 120 | 120 | 0 |
| Getxo | 817 | 67 | 66 | 1 |
| Irun | 664 | 62 | 62 | 0 |
| Portugalete | 607 | 43 | 43 | 0 |
| Santurtzi | 542 | 38 | 38 | 0 |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz | 2.363 | 174 | 172 | 2 |
| | | | | |
| Sex | | | | |
| Man | 11.864 | 924 | 919 | 5 |
| Woman | 12.330 | 797 | 794 | 3 |
| | | | | |
| Age | | | | |
| Aged under 40 | 250 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| From 40 to 59 years | 1.547 | 39 | 39 | 0 |
| From 60 to 79 years | 6.769 | 415 | 413 | 2 |
| 80 or older | 15.628 | 1.265 | 1.259 | 6 |
Date July 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Death statistics
By province, Bizkaia had the highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 (921), followed by Gipuzkoa (573) and Álava (227). Considering these deaths in terms of percentages, in Bizkaia the percentage of deaths caused by COVID-19 amounted to 7% of the total, in Gipuzkoa, 7.3%, and in Álava, 7.2%. As regards the capitals, Bilbao stood out with 316 deaths caused by COVID-19 (7.3%), followed by Vitoria-Gasteiz with 174 (7.4%) and San Sebastián with 120 (5.4%). Numbers were also notable in Barakaldo and Getxo, with 75 (6.2%) and 67 (8.2%) deaths resulting from this cause, respectively.
The number of men who died due to COVID-19 was higher than that of women: 924 men compared to 797 women. In terms of age, 73.5% of deaths caused by COVID-19 corresponded to people over 80 years old.
By month, January was the month with the most COVID-19 deaths (450), followed by February (259), and an increase in deaths as a result of this cause was observed in July.
There were a further 579 deaths in which COVID-19 was among the certified causes of death, but without being the main cause.
Population growth was negative in the three provinces
Population growth was negative, as there were 10,558 more deaths than births. There were negative balances in the three provinces: in Bizkaia it was 6,291 people, in Gipuzkoa it was 3,364, and in Álava 903. In 2021, the population growth rate was also negative, with 8,816 more deaths than births.
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