During the 2022-2023 reporting period, about 5.26 people died per 1,000 standard inhabitants in Australia. This figure represents a slight increase compared to the previous year.

The number of deaths in Australia decreased significantly in 2023 compared to previous years. The number of deaths recorded in 2023 was approximately 46 thousand, compared to about 171 thousand in 2023. Number of deaths due to road accidents In Australia, there were 1,234 road-related fatalities during the course of the year. Drivers had the highest number of road fatalities, followed by motorcyclists and passengers. In the same year, New South Wales recorded the highest number of road deaths with a total of 334 road deaths. This does represent an increase from 2022 and the second-highest number of road fatalities in the last five years. New South Wales and South Australia exhibit comparable tendencies. Number of deaths due to COVID-19 On March 1, 2020, Australia recorded its first COVID-related death. The country recorded fewer than one thousand COVID-19-related deaths within the first year of the pandemic in 2020. By 2022, Australia recorded a total of 16,284 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. Australia has recorded the deaths of 4,258 women between the ages of 80 and 89 due to COVID-19. Moreover, more men between the ages of 80 and 89 have died of COVID-19 in 2022. At the time, the number of deaths among those under the age of 50 was significantly lower than that of those in older age groups.

Actual value and historical data chart for Australia Death Rate Crude Per 1 000 People

In the reporting period of 2022-2023, about 7.3 people died per 1,000 standard inhabitants in the Northern Territory in Australia. In comparison, Western Australia recorded 4.91 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in this period.

Historical dataset showing Australia death rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

This dataset contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia. It includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual residence was overseas. Deaths of Australian residents that occurred outside Australia may be registered by individual Registrars, but are not included in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) death statistics.

Standardised death rates in this dataset differ from those in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary. Standardised death rates in this dataset are averaged using data for the three years ending in the reference year. They are calculated for each calendar year and then averaged. Standardised death rates in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary are based on death registration data for the reference year only. Null values represent data not available for publication

This dataset uses deaths and estimated resident population (ERP) for Statistical Area 2 (SA2) of Australia for 30 June 2012 to 2020, according to the 2016 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). ERP is final for 2012 to 2016, revised for 2017 to 2019 and preliminary for 2020, based on the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. Data has been sourced from the September 2021 release.

For more information including which ERP was used in this dataset please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Explanatory Notes.

AURIN has spatially enabled the original data from the ABS with the 2016 SA2 boundaries.

In 2023, the number of deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in Australia amounted to ***. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by ***, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Australia Cause of Death: by Injury: % of Total data was reported at 5.945 % in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.857 % for 2015. Australia Cause of Death: by Injury: % of Total data is updated yearly, averaging 5.859 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2019, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.945 % in 2019 and a record low of 5.589 % in 2010. Australia Cause of Death: by Injury: % of Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Cause of death refers to the share of all deaths for all ages by underlying causes. Injuries include unintentional and intentional injuries.;Derived based on the data from Global Health Estimates 2020: Deaths by Cause, Age, Sex, by Country and by Region, 2000-2019. Geneva, World Health Organization; 2020. Link: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-leading-causes-of-death;Weighted average;

This dataset contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia. It includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual residence was overseas. Deaths of Australian residents that occurred outside Australia may be registered by individual Registrars, but are not included in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) death statistics.

Standardised death rates in this dataset differ from those in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary. Standardised death rates in this dataset are averaged using data for the three years ending in the reference year. They are calculated for each calendar year and then averaged. Standardised death rates in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary are based on death registration data for the reference year only. Null values represent data not available for publication

This dataset uses deaths and estimated resident population (ERP) for Local Government Areas (LGA) of Australia for 30 June 2012 to 2020, according to the 2020 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). ERP is final for 2012 to 2016, revised for 2017 to 2019 and preliminary for 2020, based on the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. Data has been sourced from the September 2021 release.

For more information including which ERP was used in this dataset please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Explanatory Notes.

AURIN has spatially enabled the original data from the ABS with the 2020 LGA boundaries. The original dataset was shipped from the ABS with incorrect codes (LGA19 instead of LGA20). AURIN has modified these codes to reflect the correct LGA 2020 aggregation.

The average for 2022 based on 13 countries was 7.39 deaths per 1000 people. The highest value was in Palau: 11.5 deaths per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Vanuatu: 5.17 deaths per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Australia Mortality Rate Attributed to Unsafe Water, Unsafe Sanitation and Lack of Hygiene: per 100,000 Population data was reported at 0.100 Ratio in 2016. Australia Mortality Rate Attributed to Unsafe Water, Unsafe Sanitation and Lack of Hygiene: per 100,000 Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.100 Ratio from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2016, with 1 observations. Australia Mortality Rate Attributed to Unsafe Water, Unsafe Sanitation and Lack of Hygiene: per 100,000 Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank: Health Statistics. Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene is deaths attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene focusing on inadequate WASH services per 100,000 population. Death rates are calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the total population. In this estimate, only the impact of diarrhoeal diseases, intestinal nematode infections, and protein-energy malnutrition are taken into account.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

This dataset contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia. It includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual …Show full descriptionThis dataset contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia. It includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual residence was overseas. Deaths of Australian residents that occurred outside Australia may be registered by individual Registrars, but are not included in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) death statistics. Standardised death rates in this dataset differ from those in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary. Standardised death rates in this dataset are averaged using data for the three years ending in the reference year. They are calculated for each calendar year and then averaged. Standardised death rates in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary are based on death registration data for the reference year only. Null values represent data not available for publication This dataset uses deaths and estimated resident population (ERP) for the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Australia for 30 June 2012 to 2019, according to the 2019 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). ERP is final for 2012 to 2016, revised for 2017 & 2018 and preliminary for 2019, based on the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. Data has been sourced from the September 2020 release. For more information including which ERP was used in this dataset please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Explanatory Notes. AURIN has spatially enabled the original data from the ABS with the 2019 LGA boundaries. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2020): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Age-specific Death rate by persons – Underlying cause of death (ABS) There is no current data for Under-five specifically, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) both report from Under 1 Year and 1-14 years.

Yearly registered deaths – breakdown by Month

Australia Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data was reported at 72.640 Ratio in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 73.018 Ratio for 2020. Australia Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 121.335 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2021, with 62 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 209.646 Ratio in 1964 and a record low of 72.640 Ratio in 2021. Australia Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Adult mortality rate, male, is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60--that is, the probability of a 15-year-old male dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision. (2) HMD. Human Mortality Database. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (Germany), University of California, Berkeley (USA), and French Institute for Demographic Studies (France). Available at www.mortality.org.;Weighted average;

Australia Mortality Rate: Adult: Female: per 1000 Female Adults data was reported at 41.647 Ratio in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 41.652 Ratio for 2020. Australia Mortality Rate: Adult: Female: per 1000 Female Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 65.815 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2021, with 62 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 119.568 Ratio in 1966 and a record low of 41.647 Ratio in 2021. Australia Mortality Rate: Adult: Female: per 1000 Female Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Adult mortality rate, female, is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60--that is, the probability of a 15-year-old female dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision. (2) HMD. Human Mortality Database. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (Germany), University of California, Berkeley (USA), and French Institute for Demographic Studies (France). Available at www.mortality.org.;Weighted average;

Australia Number of Deaths Ages 10-14 Years data was reported at 133.000 Person in 2019. This stayed constant from the previous number of 133.000 Person for 2018. Australia Number of Deaths Ages 10-14 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 165.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2019, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 246.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 133.000 Person in 2019. Australia Number of Deaths Ages 10-14 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Number of deaths of adolescents ages 10-14 years; ; Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Sum; Aggregate data for LIC, UMC, LMC, HIC are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

This dataset contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia. It includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual …Show full descriptionThis dataset contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia. It includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual residence was overseas. Deaths of Australian residents that occurred outside Australia may be registered by individual Registrars, but are not included in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) death statistics. Standardised death rates in this dataset differ from those in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary. Standardised death rates in this dataset are averaged using data for the three years ending in the reference year. They are calculated for each calendar year and then averaged. Standardised death rates in the ABS.Stat datasets and commentary are based on death registration data for the reference year only. Null values represent data not available for publication This dataset uses deaths and estimated resident population (ERP) for Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) of Australia for 30 June 2010 to 2015, according to the 2011 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). ERP is final for 2010 and 2011, revised for 2012 to 2014 and preliminary for 2015. For 2015, preliminary ERP used in sub-state data cubes is different from that used elsewhere in this release. Data has been sourced from the September 2016 release. For more information including which ERP was used in this dataset please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Explanatory Notes. AURIN has spatially enabled the original data from the ABS 2011 SA4 boundaries. Copyright attribution: Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Data Description

This dataset contains data pertaining to the most common causes of death in Australia during the 2019 to 2021 period, separated between age and sex.

Data Source

Data was sourced from the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing (AIHW), which is an agency in the Australian Government.

The original data set can be downloaded from here. The download is an XLSX file, and here we only focus on the sheet titled "Table S3.2".

Data Cleaning

As provided by the AIHW, the data is not in a format that is easy for computational data analysis. Hence, an extensive data cleaning process was applied to place the data into a more appropriate long format.

The cleaning process can be found here.

References

Australian Government: Australian Institue of Health and Welfare (2023). Data tables: Deaths in Australia. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-deaths/deaths-in-australia/data

Australia Suicide Mortality Rate: per 100,000 Population data was reported at 13.080 Ratio in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 13.030 Ratio for 2020. Australia Suicide Mortality Rate: per 100,000 Population data is updated yearly, averaging 12.155 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2021, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.980 Ratio in 2019 and a record low of 10.790 Ratio in 2004. Australia Suicide Mortality Rate: per 100,000 Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Suicide mortality rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population. Crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted).;World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.4.2[https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].