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Deaths 2016

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There were 30,667 deaths in Ireland in 2016 of which 15,620 were males and 15,047 were females.  This is equivalent to a rate of 6.5 deaths per 1,000 total population, an increase of 0.1 from 2015 and an increase of 0.2 from 2014.  The crude death rate per 1,000 of population has shown a gradual downward trend since the beginning of the century with significant long-term falls in the death rates particularly at the younger ages.  See tables 3.1, 3.2, figure 3.1 and figure 3.2.

Additionally, significant decreases in the number of deaths due to circulatory disease have been recorded, down from an average of 4.5 per 1,000 of the population in the years 1981-1990 to 1.9 per 1,000 of the population in 2016.  See table 3.32.

The population data used to calculate the rates in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2 have been revised for intercensal years 2012 to 2015.  The 2016 rates are based on usual residence census of population figures.

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Total DeathsMaleFemale
20066.76.96.6
20076.46.66.3
20086.36.56.2
20096.36.56
20106.16.35.9
20116.26.46.1
20126.46.66.1
20136.46.56.2
20146.36.46.1
20156.46.66.3
20166.56.76.3
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Death rate per 1,000 population 2004-2014Death rate per 1,000 population MaleDeath rate per 1,000 population Female
20047.17.46.8
20056.876.7
20066.76.96.6
20076.46.66.3
20086.36.56.2
20096.36.56
20106.16.35.9
20116.26.46.1
20126.46.66.1
20136.46.66.3
20146.36.56.2
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Over 65MaleFemale
200648.152.244.8
200746.449.643.9
200845.248.442.7
200943.947.341.1
201042.444.840.4
201141.843.940.1
201241.944.339.9
201341.443.140
201439.941.538.4
201540.141.738.8
201639.841.638.3

Standardised death rates comparison between EU member states

For comparison purposes between the EU member states, the age effect can be taken into account by using a standard population.  The (age) standardised death rate is a weighted average of age-specific mortality rates.  The weighting factor is the age distribution of a standard reference population.  The standard reference population used is the European standard population as defined by Eurostat in 2012.  The new European Standard Population (ESP) is the unweighted average of the individual populations of EU-28 plus EFTA countries in each 5-years age band (with the exception of under 5 and the highest age group of 95+).  The ESP is calculated on the basis of the 2010-based population projections, averaged over the period 2011-30.

As method for standardisation, the direct method is applied.  Standardised death rates are calculated for the age group 0-64 ('premature death') and for the total of ages.  As most causes of death vary significantly with people's age and sex, the use of standardised death rates improves comparability over time and between countries.

The latest available European Union standardised death rates are for 2015 and these rates are presented in Table 3.I.  The standardised death rate presented for Ireland for 2015 is 988.77.  This rate is below the standardised rate for the European Union 28 countries for which a rate of 1,035.96 has been calculated.  The Irish standardised death rate in 2015 was below that of the United Kingdom, 988.77 compared with 1002.39.  See table 3.31.

Standardised death rates comparison between counties

Variations in the age distribution of the population from one area to another have an effect on the comparability of death rates between different areas.  Comparisons over a period of years are also affected by changes in the age and sex structures of the population.  If a particular county contains a large proportion of elderly persons, the crude death rate per 1,000 of population will be relatively high even if the health conditions in that area are better than the general average.  In an attempt to overcome this, standardised rates are prepared.  For a particular county this is done by calculating the death rate in each age group of the population in that county and multiplying the death rate in each age group by the population in the whole country in that age group, summing the resulting products and dividing by the overall population.

The standardised death rate for Ireland per 1,000 of population in 2016 was 6.5 and the corresponding rate for 2015 was 6.4.  In certain areas the standardised death rates differ significantly from the crude rates, the extremes being Fingal which had a crude death rate of 3.4 and a standardised rate of 5.2 (reflecting the very young age structure in Fingal) and Cork City where the standardisation had the effect of lowering the crude death rate from 9.7 to 7.8.

The standardised death rates in 2016 were lowest in Fingal (at 5.2 per thousand population) and highest in Limerick City (at 8.2 per thousand population).  See table 3.3.

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Causes of Death Male 2016 (%)
circulatory30.5
malignant
neoplasms
30.7
respiratory
diseases
12.3
external6
remainder20.4
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Causes of Death Female 2016 (%)
circulatory29.7
malignant
neoplasms
29
respiratory
diseases
13.4
external2.5
remainder25.3

Causes of Death

Of deaths occurring in 2016, 73.6% were attributed to 3 main chapters in the ICD-10 classification: IX (I00-I99) diseases of the circulatory system (30.1%), II (C00-D48) neoplasms (30.7%), and X (J00-J99) diseases of the respiratory system (12.8%).  A similar overall breakdown is evident for males and females.  See table 3.8A.

Within different age groups, there are significant differences in the assigned underlying causes of death.  For those aged less than five years of age, the main cause of death was certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (39.1%).  In this age group 36.2% of male deaths and 42.9% of female deaths were attributed to these causes.  Congenital malformations and chromosomal abnormalities also accounted for a large volume of deaths (36%) in this age group.  The numbers of deaths in the 0-4 age group are very much dominated by infant deaths (76.8% aged under 1 year).  See tables 3.9 and 3.10 and chapter 4.

In the age group 5-14, neoplasms were the main underlying cause of death (32.6%) with 27.3% of male deaths and 38.1% of female deaths recorded in this category.  See tables 3.9 and 3.10.

A large proportion of deaths in age groups, from ages 15 to 34, were due to external causes of injury and poisoning (60.0%).  Over two-thirds (68.5%) of males aged 15 to 34 died due to external causes of injury and poisoning.  The corresponding figure for females was 39.2%.  Additionally, there were almost 2.5 male deaths for every 1 female death in this age group.  External causes of injury and poisoning were also the main causes of death for males aged 35-44 (41.3%), while neoplasms were the main causes of female deaths in this age group (44.2%).  See tables 3.9 and 3.10.

From 45 to 74 years of age, neoplasms were the main underlying cause of death (46.6%).  Within the female age cohort of 45 to 64 years, 53.7% of deaths were due to neoplasms compared to 41.9% of males in the same age group.  See tables 3.9 and 3.10.

In the older age groups (75 years and over), 34.6% of deaths were due to diseases of the circulatory system.  See tables 3.9 and 3.10.

Neoplasms

There were 9,408 deaths due to neoplasms in 2016, 2.0 per 1,000 of population.  Of these, 9,171 were due to malignant neoplasms, 4,801 males and 4,370 females.  See tables 3.12, 3.13, 3.14 and 3.33.

Malignant neoplasm of the digestive organs was the most common of these cancers (31.1%).  Deaths due to cancer of the digestive organs was the most common form of malignant neoplasm in males and females at 34.4% and 27.6% respectively.  Breast cancer was the most common type of malignant neoplasm for females aged between 35 and 54 years at 32.8%.  Cancer was the most common cause of death in females aged from 35 to 74 (53.1%) and in males aged from 45 to 74 (41.9%).  See tables 3.9, 3.10, 3.13, 3.14 and 3.15.

Carlow had the highest age standardised death rate from cancer, 2.41 per 1,000 of population, while Longford had the lowest at 1.59 per 1,000 of population.  See table 3.12.

Diseases of the circulatory system

There were 9,237 deaths attributed to diseases of the circulatory system in 2016, of which 4,768 were deaths of males and 4,469 were deaths of females.

Overall, diseases of the circulatory system was the second most common causes of death in 2016 (30.1%), 1.9 deaths per 1,000 of population.  Over 73.4% of deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system occurred where the person was aged 75 and over.  For deaths due to circulatory disease in those aged under 75, there were 2.4 male deaths to 1 female death.  See tables 3.9, 3.12 and 3.17.

For deaths caused by diseases of the circulatory system, 48.2% were due to ischaemic heart diseases, accounting for 55.4% of males and 40.4% of females.  Almost a fifth (19.8%) of these deaths were due to cerebrovascular diseases, accounting for 16.2% of males and 23.6% of females.  Acute myocardial infarction accounted for 1,847 of the 4,449 ischaemic heart disease deaths.  See tables 3.16 and 3.18.

North Tipperary recorded the highest age-standardised death rate for diseases of the circulatory system, 2.64 per 1,000 of population, while Galway City recorded the lowest at 1.40 per 1,000 of population.  See table 3.12.

Respiratory Diseases

(See causes of death note in Technical Notes in relation to the change in coding rules applied in cases of pneumonia).

Deaths from diseases of the respiratory system in 2016 numbered 3,935, of which 1,917 were males and 2,018 were females.  There were 1,712 deaths (43.5%) from chronic lower respiratory diseases and 1,127 deaths (28.6%) due to influenza and pneumonia.  See table 3.19, 3.20, 3.21 and 3.28.

Diseases of the respiratory system accounted for 12.8% of all deaths (0.8 per 1,000 of population), affecting, in particular the older age groups, with 77.6% of these occurring in persons aged 75 and over.  See tables 3.9, 3.12 and 3.20.

Limerick City recorded the highest age-standardised death rate for diseases of the respiratory system, 1.38 per 1,000 of population, while South Dublin recorded the lowest at 0.54 per 1,000 of population.  See table 3.12.

Accidents, poisoning and violence

The number of deaths from external causes of injury and poisoning occurring in 2016 was 1,323, of which 940 were males and 383 females.  As has been mentioned, deaths not registered within the year of occurrence or the subsequent calendar year, have been excluded from the main body of this report.  The exclusion of these cases may have a relatively more significant effect on the number of deaths classified to some external causes.  See tables 3.8a and 3.9.

Accidents accounted for 61.6% of all external causes of injury and poisoning, while intentional self-harm accounted for a further 33.0%.  Events of undetermined intent accounted for 2.5%, while deaths due to assaults accounted for 1.7%.  Complications of medical and surgical care and sequelae of external causes of morbidity and mortality accounted for the remaining 1.2%.  See table 3.22.

Almost 2.5 times as many males died due to external causes compared to females in 2016.  Differences in more specific causes of death and also within different age-groups were also significant.  Just over 1.9 as many males died due to accidents compared to females in 2016.  The majority of accidental deaths in males under 25 years of age were due to transport accidents (43.3%) while the greatest cause of accidental deaths in the male 25 to 54 year age groups was due to poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances (53.6%).  The majority of female accidents occurred in the older age-groups, particularly in females aged 75 and over which accounted for 50.2% of female accidents, 55.7% of these were from falls.  See table 3.23.

There were 437 deaths due to intentional self-harm in 2016, 350 (or 80.1%) males and 87 (or 19.9%) females.  The highest number of deaths, 101, recorded from intentional self-harm were in the 35-44 age group (23.1%).  There were 88 (20.1%) such deaths in the 45-54 age group. 

Events of undetermined intent accounted for an additional 33 deaths in 2016.  See tables 3.22, 3.23, 3.24 and 3.34.

Cork City recorded the highest age-standardised death rate for external causes of injury and poisoning, 0.59 per 1,000 of population while Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown recorded the lowest at 0.13 per 1,000 of population.  See table 3.12.

Inquests and post-mortems

The number of deaths on certificates issued by coroners as a result of inquest and post-mortem examinations during 2016 was 4,863 compared with 4,732 in 2015 and 4,912 in 2014.

For deaths coding methodology see >>>  Technical notes deaths

On Thursday the 8th of November two new tables were added to this chapter, Tables 3.13 and 3.34, replacing previous versions.

 

 

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Table 3.1 Average annual number of deaths for the period 1864-2000 and the number of deaths in the years 1996-2016 classified by sex and age

Table 3.2 Average annual death rates for the period 1864-2010 and death rates for the years 1996-2016 per 1,000 corresponding population classified by sex and age

Table 3.3 Crude and standardised death rates by area of residence of deceased in 2016

Table 3.4 Deaths in 2016 classified by marital status and sex in certain age-groups

Table 3.5 Deaths by area in 2016 classified by place of occurrence

Table 3.6 Deaths in 2016 classified by area of residence and age-group

Table 3.7 Deaths in 2016 in Ireland and Northern Ireland classified by underlying cause of death and with rate per 100,000 population

Table 3.8a Deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death and sex

Table 3.8B Top ten causes of death in 2016 classified by sex

Table 3.9 Deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, sex and age-group

Table 3.10 Percentage of deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, sex and age-group

Table 3.11A Deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, province of Leinster and sex

Table 3.11B Deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, province of Munster and sex

Table 3.11C Deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, provinces of Connacht, Ulster and sex

Table 3.11D Deaths in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, region and sex

Table 3.12 Standardised death rates per 1,000 population by area of residence of deceased in 2016 for certain underlying causes of death

Table 3.13 Deaths from neoplasms (C00-D48) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death and sex

Table 3.14 Deaths from malignant neoplasms (C00-C97) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, sex and age-group

Table 3.15 Deaths from malignant neoplasms (C00-C97) in 2016 classified by area of residence and underlying cause of death

Table 3.16 Deaths from diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death and sex

Table 3.17 Deaths from diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, sex and age group

Table 3.18 Deaths from diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) in 2016 classified by area of residence and underlying cause of death

Table 3.19 Deaths from diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death and sex

Table 3.20 Deaths from diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, sex and age-group

Table 3.21 Deaths from diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) in 2016 classified by area of residence and underlying cause of death

Table 3.22 Deaths from external causes (V01-Y89) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death and sex

Table 3.23 Deaths from external causes (V01-Y89) in 2016 classified by underlying cause of death, sex and age-group

Table 3.24 Deaths from external causes in 2016 classified by area of residence

Table 3.25 Deaths from non transport accidents in 2016 classified by place of occurrence

Table 3.26 Deaths from external causes in the home and residential institutions in 2016 classified by sex and age-group

Table 3.27 Deaths in 2016 from external causes classified by the injury, poisoning or certain other consequences

Table 3.28 Deaths in 2016 classified by the underlying cause of death and sex in the Eurostat 65 cause of death shortlist

Table 3.29 Deaths where there was mention of mental and behavioural disorders classified by the underlying cause of death, sex and age-group, 2016

Table 3.30 Suicides classified by county of residence of deceased, 2011 - 2016

Table 3.31 Standardised death rates in the European Union, 2015

Table 3.32 Standardised death rates per 1,000 population and number of deaths for certain underlying causes in each year 1998 to 2016 and annual averages 1951 to 2010

Table 3.33 Crude death rates from cancer (C00-C97) per 1,000 population in Ireland and neighbouring countries in each year 1988 to 2016

Table 3.34 Average annual number of deaths by suicide* for the period 1941-2010 also showing numbers for years 1983-2016 classified by sex

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