Death and life expectancy in Australia - snapshot

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released an update on its Deaths Web Snapshot today. This presents the latest data on deaths, causes of death and life expectancy in Australia. 

There were 147,678 deaths registered in Australia in 2013. Two-thirds (66%) of deaths were among people aged over 75 years. Over the period 1907 to 2013, the age-standardised death rates fell by 74%. Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, dementia and cancers, continue to be the leading cause of death in the overall population, however younger people tend to die from external causes such as transport accidents and suicides. Australia has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, at 84.3 years for females and 80.1 years for males born in 2011-2013.