IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

The overall number of deaths in South Africa continues to decline. This was one of the findings from the Mortality and causes of death in South Africa, 2012: Findings from death notification report, which was released by Statistics South Africa on Thursday.

Just over 480 thousand deaths were registered in South Africa in 2012. This is less than the 512 thousand recorded in 2011, and a sharp decline from the 613 thousand recorded in 2006, when the highest number of deaths was recorded.

From 2008 – 2011, the highest proportion of deaths occurred amongst young adults. However, the 2012 data shows that the age profile of deaths in South Africa is starting to normalise, with the older age groups having a higher proportion of deaths than young adults.

More deaths in South Africa are now related to non-communicable diseases (e.g. heart disease, diabetes) than to communicable diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, influenza and pneumonia). The number of deaths related to HIV has also shown a steady decline since 2006.

The number of non-natural deaths increased slightly in 2012, after declining steadily from 2007. Those aged 15 – 24 years had the highest proportion of non-natural deaths. Western Cape and Northern Cape recorded the highest proportion of non-natural deaths, at 11,9% and 10,9% respectively.

These are just some of the findings from the Mortality and causes of death in South Africa, 2012: Findings from death notification report.

To download the full report, please click here.