A report by the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, illustrates mortality data by cause for the Member States of the European Union. It also indicates that the leading cause of death differs greatly between the 25 Member States at national and regional levels.
According to statistics:
– two thirds of deaths in the EU are caused by circulatory diseases and cancer.
– Heart attacks, strokes and other circulatory diseases account for 41% of all deaths.
– Cancer is responsible for 25% of all deaths and is the biggest killer of people aged 45-64.
Repartition per generation
Among Europe’s younger population, external factors such as transport accident and suicide are the most frequent cause of death. Transport accidents among males less than 19 years of age account for half of the European rate for external causes among both men and women in this age group. The male rate is, however, 2.4
times higher than the female rate. Significant difference between Member States mean that there are almost five times as many deaths among the under-20s in Slovakia than in Sweden.
Suicide is responsible for 12% of all deaths among the 20-44 age group, with men being four times more likely to commit suicide than women. The highest suicide rates can be found in north-east Europe and the lowest rates in southern Europe.
In the 45-64 age group, cancers are responsible for 41% of all deaths. Cancers of the lungs and throat were most common among men, while breast cancer was the most prevalent among women.
Among the elderly (65-84), diseases of the circulatory system account for 42% of all deaths. The highest death rates from this disease were in Estonia (2,305 men and 1,318 women per 100,000) and Lithuania (2,219 men and 1,335 women), while the lowest rates were in France (402 men and 169 women) and Portugal (460 men, 275 women).
The 12 page report is available here.