Cancer top death cause, suicide rates higher than car accidents
The Central Bureau of Statistics puts out mortality statistics for 2009–2014; cancer leads causes of death, followed by heart-related illness and diabetes; more people die of suicide in 2009–2013 than from vehicular accidents.
The Central Bureau of Statistics published new information regarding Israeli mortality over the past few years. Among other conclusions, it found that cancer continues to be the most common cause of death in Israel, amounting to 25% of Israeli deaths during 2014. Heart-related illness and diabetes followed as lead causes of death during the same year.
Generally speaking, there has been a significant decrease in mortality rates caused by strokes and heart-related illness in Israel over the past 40 years. At the same time, though, mortality rates from infectious illnesses and diabetes were found to be higher when compared to the rest of the world.
42,170 residents died in Israel during 2014, which equals roughly half of a percent of the general population. 49.9% of those who died were identified as men, while 50.15 were identified as women. 80% of those who died were over 65 years old, 6% were under 45, and 1.3% (or 541) were babies less than one year old.
At 40%, cancer and heart-related illnesses were the most common causes of death, being the deadliest causes for both men and women.
Death by suicide, vehicular accident or murder were the fourth most common cause of death for men and eighth for women. Suicide in particular reflected the general breakdown worldwide, with men dying of suicide more often than women (In Israel’s case, 3.7 times more often). Men also died 3.1 times more than women due to vehicular accident and 4.2 times more than women due to murder.
During 2009 – 2013, over 200,000 people died in Israel, 99,981 of them men and 102,048 of them women.
During this period, 51,529 people died of cancer (26,096 of them men and 25,833 women), 33,536 people died of heart-related illnesses (16,725 of them men and 16,811 of them women), 11,450 died of diabetes (5,262 men and 6,188 women), 2,607 from Alzheimer’s (1,741 women and 866 men) and 1,829 from vehicular accidents (1,348 and 481 women).
It is also worth noting that more people in Israel died by suicide during 2009–2013 (1,666 men and 429 women) than due to vehicular accident. Tel Aviv had the highest suicide rate, with the lowest being in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem.
