IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

This statistical release presents mortality and causes of death data based on all death notification forms received from the Department of Home Affairs for 2005. Some reference is made to 1997-2004 mortality data based on data updated with forms received in the current year of processing.

The findings indicate that the number of deaths has increased from 1997 to 2005. In all the years, the number of deaths was higher at age groups 0-4 and 30-34 as compared to other ages. The overall number of deaths was slightly higher for males as compared to females although the rate of increase in the number of deaths between 2004 and 2005 was higher for females than for males.

The majority of deaths between 1997 and 2005 were linked to natural causes. The prevalence of various causes of death remained unchanged between 2004 and 2005. For both years, the dominant contributors to the growth in mortality were deaths associated with tuberculosis, and influenza and pneumonia. This was also the case among males and females. Among the ten leading causes of death, the diseases that showed higher increases in the number of deaths between 2004 and 2005 were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and diabetes mellitus.

The percentage of deaths due to non-natural causes was observed to decrease with time. For specific causes of non-natural deaths, transport accidents and assault dominated the non-natural causes of death. The ages that were mostly affected by non-natural causes were between five and 29 years, with males more affected than females.