Chapter 3 - Deaths
Numbers
53,661 deaths were registered in Scotland in 2011. This was 306 (0.6 per cent) fewer than in 2010, and was the lowest total recorded since the introduction of civil registration in 1855.
Figure 2.1 shows that from 1951 up to the early 1990s the annual number of deaths remained relatively stable at about 60,000-65,000 a year. The total then declined slowly to just under 55,100 in 2006 which, until 2009, was the lowest annual total recorded. The overall 'crude' death rate (10.2 per 1,000 population) was also at its lowest recorded level. The fall in the death rate is proportionately greater for the age-standardised death rate (which takes account of the change in the age distribution of the population).
Causes of death
In 2011 more than half of all deaths were due to the so-called 'three big killers'. There were 15,457 deaths from cancer (29 per cent of all deaths), 7,636 deaths from ischaemic (coronary) heart disease (14 per cent of all deaths) and 4,594 deaths from strokes (9 per cent of all deaths).
Since 1980, the total number of deaths from these causes has reduced, as shown in Table 3.1, falling from 65 per cent of all deaths during 1980-82 and 1990-92, to 58 per cent during 2000-02 and to 52 per cent in 2011. The proportion of deaths caused by coronary heart disease has fallen from 29 per cent in 1980-82 to 14 per cent in 2011, and by strokes from 14 per cent to 9 per cent. However, the number of deaths from cancer has increased, and as a proportion of all deaths has risen from 22 per cent to 29 per cent.
Death rates, by sex, for some of the most common causes of death are shown in Tables 3.2a and 3.2b.
Cancer
Of the 15,457 deaths from cancer in 2011, cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung was the most common type, with 4,178 deaths (2,200 males and 1,978 females), accounting for over a quarter (27 per cent) of all cancer deaths.
The next most frequent type of cancer death was prostate for men (900 deaths) and breast for women (1,036 deaths). Bowel cancer caused 1,555 deaths (832 males and 723 females) and cancers of the lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue caused 1,055 deaths (558 males and 497 females).
Over the last 25 years or so, male death rates from lung cancer have fallen by 28 per cent (from 119 per 100,000 population in 1980-82 to 86 in 2011). By contrast, the rates for women, though still lower than those for men, have increased by 78 per cent (from 41 per 100,000 population in 1980-82 to 73 in 2011).
Although overall death rates from cancer have risen since the start of the 1980s, from 291 (per 100,000 population) in 1980-82 to 314 for males and from 247 (per 100,000) in 1980-82 to 275 for females, they have actually fallen for those aged under 75. For men the rate fell from 214 (per 100,000 population) in 1980-82 to 173 in 2011, and for women it fell from 170 (per 100,000 population) in 1980-82 to 150 in 2011.
Heart disease and stroke
Table 3.2a shows that, in contrast to the rises for cancer, death rates for coronary heart disease (ischaemic heart disease) and stroke (cerebrovascular disease) have significantly declined. Between 1980-82 and 2011, rates for males fell by 58 per cent for coronary heart disease and 50 per cent for stroke, compared with reductions of 60 and 50 per cent respectively for females. Table 3.2b shows that the improvement was proportionately greater for people aged under 75, with the coronary heart disease and stroke death rates falling by about 70 per cent for males. For females the improvement was greater at 79 per cent for coronary heart disease and 75 per cent for strokes.
Table 3.1 Number of deaths from selected causes, by sex, 1980-2011
| Year | Cancer | Coronary (Ischaemic) heart disease | Stroke (Cerebrovascular disease) | Total deaths from these causes | These causes as a % of all deaths | All deaths | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females | Persons | Persons | Persons | |
| 1980-821 | 7,269 | 6,634 | 10,173 | 8,150 | 3,470 | 5,638 | 20,912 | 20,422 | 41,334 | 65% | 64,050 |
| 1990-921 | 7,664 | 7,324 | 8,964 | 7,846 | 2,913 | 5,029 | 19,541 | 20,199 | 39,740 | 65% | 61,168 |
| 2000-021 | 7,674 | 7,394 | 6,342 | 5,664 | 2,465 | 4,250 | 16,481 | 17,308 | 33,789 | 58% | 57,761 |
| 2011 | 8,005 | 7,452 | 4,320 | 3,316 | 1,765 | 2,829 | 14,090 | 13,597 | 27,687 | 52% | 53,661 |
1 Average over 3 year period.
Table 3.2a Death rates from selected causes, by sex, Scotland, 1980-2011
| Males - rates per 100,000 population | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Cancer | Coronary (Ischaemic) heart disease | Stroke (Cerebrovascular disease) | ||
| All types | Trachea, bronchus and lung | Prostate | |||
| 1980-821 | 291 | 119 | 19 | ||
| 1990-921 | 314 | 111 | 27 | 367 | 119 |
| 2000-021 | 315 | 93 | 32 | 261 | 101 |
| 2011 | 314 | 86 | 35 | 170 | 69 |
| Females - rates per 100,000 population | |||||
| Year | Cancer | Coronary (Ischaemic) heart disease | Stroke (Cerebrovascular disease) | ||
| All types | Trachea, bronchus and lung | Breast | |||
| 1980-821 | 247 | 41 | 45 | ||
| 1990-921 | 278 | 57 | 48 | 297 | 191 |
| 2000-021 | 281 | 64 | 43 | 216 | 162 |
| 2011 | 275 | 73 | 38 | 123 | 105 |
1 Average over 3 year period.
Table 3.2b Death rates from selected causes, aged under 75, by sex, Scotland, 1980-2011
| Males aged under 75 - rates per 100,000 population | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Cancer | Coronary (Ischaemic) heart disease | Stroke (Cerebrovascular disease) | ||
| All types | Trachea, bronchus and lung | Prostate | |||
| 1980-821 | 214 | 92 | 9 | ||
| 1990-921 | 210 | 79 | 11 | 231 | 50 |
| 2000-021 | 195 | 61 | 12 | 142 | 36 |
| 2011 | 173 | 51 | 11 | 84 | 22 |
| Females aged under 75 - rates per 100,000 population | |||||
| Year | Cancer | Coronary (Ischaemic) heart disease | Stroke (Cerebrovascular disease) | ||
| All types | Trachea, bronchus and lung | Breast | |||
| 1980-821 | 170 | 34 | 36 | ||
| 1990-921 | 175 | 42 | 34 | 115 | 46 |
| 2000-021 | 158 | 41 | 28 | 63 | 31 |
| 2011 | 150 | 43 | 25 | 30 | 17 |
1 Average over 3 year period.
Some other major causes of deaths
Other major causes of deaths registered in 2011 included:
National Records of Scotland (NRS) publishes a wide range of other statistics on causes of death. They are available from the relevant parts of our website (which include some background information on the basis of the statistics):
Mortality by age
The average age at death has increased steadily over the past thirty years. Figure 3.1 shows that the average ages at death for cancer, heart disease and stroke have generally increased in line with the average for all deaths.
Figure 3.1 Average age at death, selected causes, Scotland, 1978-2011
About 61 per cent of deaths in 2011 were of people aged 75 and over, and a further 19 per cent were between the ages of 65 and 74.
The relative stability in the total number of deaths over recent years masks significant reductions in age-specific mortality. Figure 3.2 shows, for both men and women, selected age-specific mortality rates over the last quarter of a century relative to the 1981 rates. The three age groups shown (45-64, 65-74 and 75 and over) account for around 95 per cent of all deaths.
At all these ages, there have been greater improvements in male than in female mortality. In the 45-64 age group, the death rates for men and women dropped by 53 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. In the 65-74 age group, males showed an improvement of 51 per cent compared to 44 per cent for females. The greatest differential is in the 75 plus age group, where male mortality has fallen by 33 per cent compared to only 19 per cent for females. These changes have narrowed the difference between female and (traditionally higher) male mortality.
Figure 3.2 Age specific mortality rates as a proportion of 1981 rate, 1981-2011
Geographical variations in mortality
Using 2010 data, the latest available, Figure 3.3 compares the death rates for the constituent countries of the UK for selected causes after adjusting for differences in age structure, by applying the European Standard Population age structure. The Scottish rates for cancer, ischaemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease (stroke) are well above the rates for the other countries of the United Kingdom, for both men and women.
Figure 3.3 Age-adjusted mortality rates, by selected cause and sex, 2010
Appendix 1, Table 3 shows the death rate for each of the European Union member states, and for some other countries in Europe. These are so-called "crude" death rates. They are calculated by expressing the number of deaths per thousand population. As a result, they do not take account of differences in the sex and age structures of the countries' populations. All else being equal, a country with an unusually high proportion of its population in the younger age groups could have an unusually low 'crude' death rate. So, though the figure for Scotland is higher than those for most of the countries that are shown, this could to some extent be due to the structure of the Scottish population. A better way to compare Scotland's mortality with other countries' is to use the estimates of life expectancy for each country (Chapter 4).
Stillbirths, perinatal deaths and infant deaths
There were 299 stillbirths registered in Scotland in 2011. Stillbirths (where a child born after the 24th week of pregnancy does not breathe or show any other sign of life) are registered separately from live births and from deaths, and so are not included in either of those figures.
Perinatal deaths consist of stillbirths plus deaths in the first week of life (the latter are registered as live births and as deaths). There were 110 deaths of children who were aged under one week old, so there was a total of 409 perinatal deaths.
Infant deaths are deaths in the first year of life, all of which are registered as live births and as deaths. In total, 238 infant deaths were registered in Scotland in 2011 (including those who died in the first week of life).
Appendix 1, Table 1 shows that in 2011 the stillbirth rate (5.1 per 1,000 live and still births) and the infant death rate (4.1 per 1,000 live births) were slightly higher than in 2010, when the lowest levels ever were recorded. Both rates have fallen greatly since the Second World War. The stillbirth rate has not fallen much in the past thirty years but the infant death rate has continued to decline over the same period.
Appendix 1, Table 3 shows that the stillbirth rate for Scotland was slightly lower in 2010 (4.9) than that for the UK as a whole (5.1) but higher than those of all but two of the European Union (EU) countries for which figures are available. The infant death rate for Scotland in 2010 (3.7) was below the UK rate (4.3) but higher than those of 14 of the 27 EU countries.
More information about death statistics
More detailed information about Scotland's deaths can be found at: http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/deaths
Or in the deaths sections of the Vital Events Reference Tables at: http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/vital-events-reference-tables