We take a closer look at what South Africans die of. For more on this go to http://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=P0309.3&SCH=6987

1. Dr Pali Lehohla
Statistician-­General
What do South Africans die of?
Findings from registered deaths, 2015
#StatsSA

2. Death:
A permanent
disappearance of
all evidence of life
after a live birth
has occurred
From death to statistics
Reporting of causes of death
is based on the underlying
cause:
“the disease or injury that initiated
the train of events leading directly
to death”
Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 Statistics Act, 1999
Doctor verifies death &
completes death DHA
1663 form
Submitted to DHA &
entered on population
register
3
Sent to Stats SA to code
causes of death to ICD-­10,
process and analyze
ICD-­10Death occurs
1 2
Statistics
released


3. Why register deaths?
§ The data allows us to better understand mortality and causes of
death in South Africa and the rest of the provinces
§ Quality of information on mortality and causes of death collected can
be improved through:
§ Accurate and full completion of all fields on the death
notification form
§ Correct and detailed information on causes of death

4. Strengths of death registration data
§ South Africa as a leader in sub-­Saharan Africa : Only country in Africa using:
§ An automated system (IRIS) for coding causes of death
§ WHO data editing tools (ANACOD & CoDEdit)
§ Training of doctor on death certification
§ To improve the quality of causes of death certification
§ Improving Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems (CRVS)
§ Efforts at global, continental and country levels to improve CRVS)
§ Improved coverage of death registration
§ 96% completeness of death registration
§ Deaths registered soon after they occurred (3-­Days regulation)
§ Statistics compiled in accordance with WHO standards
§ General improvements noted in the quality of data

5. Limitations of death registration data
§ 24% of deaths outside health facilities: occurred at home (22,2%) and dead on
arrival (1,8%);; and “other” (26%)
§ May compromise proper diagnosis of the causes of death
§ Statistics are coded from what is recorded
§ Not all information is accurate or fully completed
§ Misreporting and insufficient reporting of causes of death
§ High proportion of non-­natural deaths unspecified to give a conclusive profile
§ Delayed transfer of data from DHA
§ Affects number of deaths processed

6. Implications for National Development Plan
(NDP) Priorities
§ By 2030, South Africa should have:
§ Raised life expectancy to at least 70 years
§ Reduced maternal, infant and child mortality
§ Significantly reduced prevalence of non-­communicable diseases
§ Reduced injuries, accidents and violence by 50% from 2010 levels
§ Progressively reduced deaths from tuberculosis
§ Tracking of NDP objectives has implications for setting of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) baselines and targets to “ensure healthy lives and
promote well-­being for all at all ages” AND to meet the aspirations of Agenda 2063
that “African people have a high standard of living, and quality of life, sound health and
well-­being”.

7. Life Expectancy at birth, 2007−2015
53,3
56,5
60,9 61,9
57,3
61,2
66,6 67,7
55,3
58,9
63,8 64,8
2007 2010 2014 2015
LIFE EXPECTANCY
DEATH YEAR
Males Females Total deaths
Data source: civil registration deaths and mid-­year population estimates

8. Life Expectancy at birth, 2015
Data source: civil registration deaths and mid-­year population estimates
NDP Targeted Life
Expectancy in
2030
70 years
Females : 67,7 years
Males : 61,9 years
64,8 years
Total 2015 Life
Expectancy from
registered deaths

9. Maternal mortality ratios, 2010−2015
247
214
160
132
119
119
38
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 MDG
2015
Target
MARTENAL
DEATHS
PER
100
000
LIVE
BIRTHS
death
year

10. 29
24
22 22
22
19
18
40
32 31
29 29
26
20
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 MDG
Target
2015
Deaths
per
1000
live
births
Death
Year
Infant
mortality Under-­‐5
child
mortality
Infant and child mortality rates, 2010−2015

11. National Development plan target or
actions by 2030
Deaths 2015 show:
q Increase life expectancy to at least 70
years
q Progressively reduced deaths from
tuberculosis, HIV disease and other
communicable diseases
q Reduced injuries, accidents and violence
by 50% from 2010 levels
q 460 236 deaths in 2015 – peak age group
60−64 years
q Communicable diseases:
§ TB number one leading cause of
death but decreasing proportions
especially for females
§ TB & HIV part of top ten causes only
for black Africans and coloureds.
§ HIV mostly amongst ages 25−54
years.
q [51 227] non-­natural deaths in 2015 –
increase of 3,9% from 2010 levels [49 318].
§ Account for 61,3% of deaths to males
20−24 years

12. National Development plan target or
actions by 2030
Deaths 2015 show:
q Significantly reduced prevalence of non-­
communicable diseases
q Reduce maternal, infant and child
mortality
q Non-­communicable diseases (NCDs) –
Account for 55,5% deaths in 2015 – 8,9%
points increase from 2010 levels [46,6%].
§ In 2015, top three causes for
whites and Indian/Asians were
NCDs
q In 2015, the 24 216 (5,3%) infant deaths and
31 938 (6,9%) child deaths.
Mortality rates:
§ 19 Infant deaths per 1000 live births
§ 26 Under-­5 deaths per 1000 live
births
§ 119 Maternal deaths per 100 000
live births

13. Key findings

14. Number of deaths in South Africa, 1997−2015
317 860
366 585
382 624
417 191
456 238
503 335
558 388
578 355
599 593
614 158
606 112
598 165
583 419
551 320
515 427
493 493
475 510
474 659
460 236
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
NUMBER OF DEATHS
Year of death
The number of
registered deaths
has been declining
since 2007
460 236
deaths occurred in
South Africa in 2015

15. Age
Demographic profile
Sex Geography

16. 0
2
4
6
8
10 0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Percentage
Age group
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
The age profile of deaths is
starting to normalise as the
proportion of deaths has shifted
from young adult to older age
groups
Percentage of deaths by age and year, 2011−2015

17. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Percentage
Male Female
Age group
Percentage distribution of deaths by age and sex, 2015
Males tend to die
at younger ages
than females

18. Provincial distribution of registered deaths, 2015
21,3%
17,7%
14,9%
10,8%
10,2%
7,5% 7,4% 6,9%
3,0%
Gauteng KwaZulu
Natal
Eastern
Cape
Western
Cape
Limpopo North West Mpumalanga Free State Northern
Cape
The biggest
proportion of deaths
were recorded in
Gauteng followed by
KwaZulu-­Natal.

19. Number of deaths per 1 000 population, 2015
LP
8,2
MP
8,0
GP
7,4
KZN
7,4
EC
9,9
FS
11,3
NW
9,3
NC
11,6
WC
8,1
South Africa
8,4 deaths
per 1 000
population
Northern Cape
(11,6) and Free
State (11,3) had
the highest number
of deaths per 1 000
population

20. How we die
• Communicable diseases
• are diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms and can be spread,
directly or indirectly, from one person to another.
• Non-­communicable diseases
• are medical conditions or diseases that are non-­infectious or non-­
transmissible among people. These last for longer periods of time and
progress slowly and include, amongst others
• (WHO, 2013).
• Injuries
• Non-­natural deaths e.g accidents;; assault;; suicide

21. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Percentage of total deaths
Year of death
Percentage of deaths: Communicable,
Non-­communicable and Injuries, 1997−2015
2015
Gap was
22% points
1997
Gap was
24% points
CommunicableNon-­communicable Injuries

22. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Percentage of deaths
Age group
Male
Percentage of deaths:
Communicable by age and sex
From Ages 5−44 years
females had higher
percentages of deaths
due to communicable
diseases
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Percentage of deaths
Age group
Male
Generally, there were more female
deaths than male deaths due to non-­
communicable diseases
Percentage of deaths: Non-­
communicable by age and sex

23. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Percentage of deaths
Age group
Male Female
Percentage of deaths: Injuries by age and sex
Injury deaths for
females peak at 29%
and much younger
age group (5−9)
Above 60% deaths
due to injuries for
males 20−24 years

24. 39,2%
41,0%
36,1%
37,9%
35,4%
33,7%
32,6%
29,9%
21,2%
33,4%
49,5%
50,1%
52,4%
53,2%
54,5%
54,8%
56,6%
58,4%
65,6%
55,5%
11,2%
8,9%
11,5%
8,9%
10,1%
11,6%
10,8%
11,7%
13,2%
11,1%
Mpumalanga
Limpopo
KwaZulu-­Natal
North West
Free State
Eastern Cape
Northern Cape
Gauteng
Western Cape
South Africa
CD NCD Injuries
Percentage of communicable, non-­communicable and
injuries by Province, 2015

25. Total Deaths
460 236
Main groups of causes
of death, 2015
17,8%
9,1%
11,1%
Other
TB
HIV disease
Infectious
diseases
19,5%
9,6%
6,9%
Metabolic
diseases
26,0%

26. 2014
1 Tuberculosis 8,3%
2 Cerebrovascular diseases 5,1%
3 Diabetes mellitus 5,0%
4 Other forms of heart disease 4,8%
5 Influenza and pneumonia 4,8%
6 HIV disease 4,8%
7 Hypertensive diseases 3,9%
8 Intestinal infectious diseases 3,1%
9 Other viral diseases 3,1%
10
Chronic lower respiratory
diseases
2,7%
Top ten leading causes of death, 2015
2015
1 Tuberculosis 7,2%
2 Diabetes mellitus 5,4%
3 Cerebrovascular diseases 5,0%
4 Other forms of heart disease 4,8%
5 HIV disease 4,8%
6 Influenza and pneumonia 4,5%
7 Hypertensive diseases 4,2%
8 Other viral diseases 3,5%
9
Chronic lower respiratory
diseases
2,8%
10 Ischaemic heart diseases 2,7%

27. Males
1 Tuberculosis 20 111 8,3%
2 HIV disease 11 275 4,7%
3
Influenza and
pneumonia
10 507 4,4%
4
Other forms of heart
disease
10 265 4,3
5
Cerebrovascular
diseases
9 696 4,0%
6 Diabetes mellitus 9 657 4,0%
7 Other viral diseases 7 698 3,2%
8
Chronic lower
respiratory diseases
7 691 3,2%
9 Hypertensive diseases 7 342 3,0%
10
Ischaemic heart
diseases
6 944 2,9%
Top ten leading causes of death by sex
Females
1 Diabetes mellitus 15 396 7,1%
2
Cerebrovascular
diseases
13 146 6,1%
3 Tuberculosis 12 811 5,9%
4 Hypertensive diseases 12 078 5,6%
5
Other forms of heart
disease
11 894 5,5%
6 HIV disease 10 545 4,9%
7
Influenza and
pneumonia
9 970 4,6%
8 Other viral diseases 8 356 3,8%
9
Intestinal infectious
diseases
5 292 2,4%
10
Ischaemic heart
diseases
5 280 2,4%

28. Males:
• The top 10 causes consist of
21,4% Non-­Communicable
Diseases (NCD’s) and 20,6%
Communicable Diseases (CD’s).
• In the top 5 causes there are 2
NCD’s and 3 CD’s
Top ten leading causes of death by sex
Females:
• The top 10 causes consist of
26,7% Non-­Communicable
Diseases (NCDs) and 21,4%
Communicable diseases (CDs)
• In the top 5 causes there are 4
NCD’s and 1 CD

29. *Excluding
unspecified
sex
and
age
500
1 000
1 500
2 000
2 500
3 000
0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Number of deaths
Age group
Sex and age distribution of
Tuberculosis deaths, 2015
0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Number of deaths
Age group
Sex and age distribution of Diabetes
Mellitus deaths, 2015
N = 20 050
N = 12 794
N = 9 654
N = 15 390
TB concentrated in males of
working ages
More women are dying of
diabetes from age 45 years

30. Hot and cold spots for Tuberculosis deaths, 2015

31. 500
1 000
1 500
2 000
2 500
0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Number of deaths
Age group
Sex and age distribution of Diabetes Mellitus deaths,
2015
*Excluding
unspecified
sex
and
age
More women are
dying of diabetes
from age 45 years
N = 9 654
N = 15 390

32. Hot and cold spots for Diabetes Mellitus deaths, 2015
Age
adjusted
diabetes
mellitus,
Males Age
adjusted
diabetes
mellitus,
Females

33. The top 10 causes
Population group:
• For black Africans: consist of 5 Communicable Diseases (CDs)
and 5 Non-­Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
• For Coloureds: 2 CDs (Tuberculosis & HIV disease) and 8 NCDs.
• For White and Indians/Asians: 1 CD (influenza and pneumonia)
and 9 NCDs, each.

34. Three leading causes of death by Population group, 2014
Black African
n : 324 265
Tuberculosis
HIV Disease
Diabetes
8,7%
5,8%
5,4%
1
2
3
White
n : 40 155
Ischaemic heart diseases
Other forms of heart disease
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
1
2
3
11,2%
7,1%
5,7%
Indian/Asian
n : 7 270
Ischaemic heart diseases
Other forms of heart disease
1
2
3
Diabetes mellitus 15,3%
13,1%
6,7%
Coloured
n : 32 688
Tuberculosis
Diabetes mellitus 7,7%
7,0%
1
2
3 6,7%Chronic lower respiratory diseases

35. Young people 15−24 years causes of death by
population group, 2015
Black
Africans
89,7%
White
2,1%
Coloured
7,5%
Indian/
Asian
0,8%
[N= 18 533]
Black Africans White
Coloured Indian/Asian
*Excluding unspecified population
group
Coloured
[n= 1 381]
Indian/Asian
[n= 146]
Natural causes 38,0% Natural causes 47,3%
Tuberculosis 9,5% Tuberculosis 2,7%
HIV disease 5,3%
Other forms of heart
disease 2,7%
Non-­natural causes 62,0% Non-­natural causes 52,7%
Assault 14,3% Assault 6,8%
Transport accidents 6,3% Transport accidents 4,8%
Black Africans
[n= 16 616]
White
[n= 390]
Natural causes 43,6% Natural causes 35,1%
Tuberculosis 8,7% Tuberculosis 3,3%
HIV disease 6,0% HIV disease 2,8%
Non-­natural causes 56,4% Non-­natural causes 64,9%
Assault 10,7% Transport accidents 11,8%
Transport accidents 4,8% Assault 2,6%

36. Three leading underlying causes of death for infants
11,2%
12,1%
35,1%
DISORD ERS
REL AT ED T O
LENGT H O F
GESTATI ON AND
FETAL GRO WTH
OTHE R
DISO RDE RS
ORIG INAT I NG IN
THE PE RIN AT AL
PER IOD
RESPI RAT O RY
AND
CARDIOVASCU LA
R DISOR DERS
SPECI F IC T O
THE PERI NAT AL
PER I OD
NEONATAL
(0−28 DAYS)
[N: 10 663]
6,1%
14,9%
15,7%
MALNUTRITIO
N
INFLUENZA
AND
PNEUMONIA
INTESTINAL
INFECTIOUS
DISEASES
POST-­‐NEONATAL
(29
DAYS
-­‐ <1
YEAR)
[N:
13
553]
8,4%
9,5%
15,6%
INFLUENZA
AND
PNEUMONIA
INTESTINAL
INFECTIOUS
DISEASES
RESPIRATORY
AND
CARDIOVASCUL
AR
DISORDERS
SPECIFIC
TO
THE
PERINATAL
PERIOD
INFANTS
(<1
YEAR)
[N:
24
216]

37. Three leading underlying causes of death for children
8,4%
10,1%
11,9%
INFLUENZA
AND
PNEUMONIA
INTESTINAL
INFECTIOUS
DISEASES
RESPIRATORY
AND
CARDIOVASCULAR
DISORDERS
SPECIFIC
TO
THE
PERINATAL
PERIOD
UNDER
5-­‐YEARS
[N=
31
938]
8,4%
8,6%
12,3%
MALNUTRITION
INFLUENZA
AND
PNEUMONIA
INTESTINAL
INFECTIOUS
DISEASES
AGE
1−4
[N=
7
722]

38. Three
leading
causes
of
death
by
age
groups,
2015
5,0%
6,8%
8,9%
MALNUTRITION
INFLUENZA
AND
PNEUMONIA
INTESTINAL
INFECTIOUS
DISEASES
AGE
1−14
[N=
13
938]
7,4%
10,5%
12,4%
OTHER
VIRAL
DISEASES
HIV
DISEASE
TUBERCULOSIS
AGE
15−44
[N=
131
593]
5,1%
7,0%
8,9%
CEREBROVASCULAR
DISEASES
DIABETES
MELLITUS
TUBERCULOSIS
AGE
45−64
[N=
130
997]
8,2%
9,0%
9,1%
HYPERTENSIVE
DISEASES
CEREBROVASCULAR
DISEASES
DIABETES
MELLITUS
AGE
65+
[N:
158
270]

39. Leading causes of death
within each province, 2015
Influenza and pneumonia
Tuberculosis
Diabetes mellitus
Other forms of heart
disease
LP
MP
KZN
EC
NW
NC
GP
FS
WC

40. HIV related deaths
These are deaths attributed to HIV,
Tuberculosis, Influenza and pneumonia,
Intestinal infectious diseases, Certain
disorders involving the immune mechanism,
Kaposi's sarcoma and Meningitis

41. HIV related vs non-­HIV related deaths, 1997 -­ 2015
Deaths
related
to
HIV
Deaths
not
related
to
HIV
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000 1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Number of deaths
Death year

42. HIV
related
vs
non-­‐HIV
related
by
age
in
2015
HIV
related
deaths
5 000
10 000
15 000
20 000
25 000
30 000
35 000
40 000 0
1-­4
5-­9
10-­14
15-­19
20-­24
25-­29
30-­34
35-­39
40-­44
45-­49
50-­54
55-­59
60-­64
65-­69
70-­74
75-­79
80-­84
85-­89
90+
Number of deaths
Age group
HIV
related
Deaths
in
25−54
Age
Group
[N=
70
547]

43. Percentage distribution of HIV related deaths 25−54
age group in 2015 by sex
39,6%
48,8%
54,9%
58,4%
59,7%
61,7%
54,2%
60,4%
51,2%
45,1%
41,6%
40,3%
38,3%
45,8%
25-­29 30-­34 35-­39 40-­44 45-­49 50-­54 Total
HIV
related
Deaths
in
25−54
Age
Group
[N=
70
547]

44. Non-­natural causes of death

45. Percentage of non-­natural deaths, 1997 -­ 2015
17,0%
8,7% 9,1%
11,1%
0
4
8
12
16
20 1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Percentage of deaths
Death Year
Non-­natural deaths include
all external causes of
morbidity and mortality
The percentage of
non-­natural deaths in South
Africa has decreased over
the years, but has increased
slightly since 2010
NDP requires a 50%
reduction in injuries,
accidents and violence from
2010 levels by 2030

46. Number of deaths: Communicable,
Non-­communicable and Injuries, 1997−2015
4500
54500
104500
154500
204500
254500
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
CD NCD Injuries
Increases in communicable and non-­communicable
deaths peaked in 2006.

47. 0,9%
3,4%
12,3%
14,1%
6,7%
62,5%
0,0 20,0 40,0 60,0 80,0
Intentional self-­harm
Complications of medical and surgical
care
Transport accidents
Assault
Event of undetermined intent
Other external causes of accidental injury
Percentage of non-­natural deaths by broad groups 2015
Over 62% of non-­
natural deaths due
to Other external
causes of
accidental injury

48. 4,4%
7,4%
15,2%
17,4%
49,6%
Accidental drowning and submersion
Exposure to smoke, fire and flames
Other accidental threats to breathing
Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces
Accidental exposure to other and
unspecified factors
Distribution of deaths due to other external causes of
accidental injury 2015
Deaths due to other
external causes
comprise of high
percentage of
ill-­defined causes

49. Transport accident deaths
percentage of non-­natural
deaths within each
province
LP
31,9%
MP
11,2%
KZN
12,2%
EC
13,0%
NW
17,0%
NC
28,9%
GP
FS
20,5%
WC
6,8%
GP
2,5%
South Africa
12,3%
Limpopo & Northern
Cape had the highest
percentage of deaths
due to transport
accidents

50. Transport
accident
deaths
percentage
of
non-­‐natural
deaths
by
District
Municipality:
2015
The Waterberg
District Municipality
recorded the highest
percentage of deaths
due to transport
accidents in South
Africa
Rank District Municipality Province
Percentage
of non-­natural
deaths in DM
1 Waterberg Limpopo 41,0%
2 John Taolo Gaetsewe North West 38,4%
3 Greater Sekhukhune Limpopo 37,3%
4 Capricorn Limpopo 35,3%
5 Fezile Dabi Free State 34,3%
6 Central Karoo Western Cape 32,5%
7 Namakwa Northern Cape 31,0%
8 Ngaka Modiri Molema North West 30,2%
9 Siyanda Northern Cape 28,7%
10 Frances Baard Northern Cape 27,3%
Ranking of Metro
Municipalities
32. Mangaung
34. Nelson MM
38 City of Tshwane
40. City of eThekwini
41. Buffalo City
43. City of Cape Town
48. City of Johannesburg
51. Ekurhuleni MM

51. Hot and cold spots for Transport deaths, 2015

52. Assault related deaths
percentage of non-­natural
deaths within each
province
LP
7,3%
MP
5,6%
KZN
13,2%
EC
22,3%
NW
9,1%
NC
21,6%
FS
16,1%
WC
21,6%
GP
9,2%
South Africa
14,1%
The
Eastern
Cape
experienced
the
highest
percentage
of
deaths
due
to
assault

53. Assault
related
deaths
percentage
of
non-­‐natural
deaths
by
District
Municipality
The Alfred Nzo District
Municipality recorded
the highest percentage
of deaths due to assault
in South Africa
Rank District Municipality Province
Percentage of
non-­natural
deaths in DM
1 Alfred Nzo Eastern Cape 27,7%
2 O.R.Tambo Eastern Cape 27,2%
3 Siyanda Northern Cape 25,9%
4 Central Karoo Western Cape 25,6%
5 Pixley ka Seme Northern Cape 24,8%
6 Chris Hani Eastern Cape 23,3%
7 Lejweleputswa Free State 22,9%
8 Amathole Eastern Cape 22,8%
9 Overberg Western Cape 22,8%
10 Eden Western Cape 22,7%
Ranking of Metro
Municipalities
12. City of Cape Town
13. Buffalo City
20. Mangaung Municipality
25. Nelson MM
30. City of eThekwini
38. Ekurhuleni MM
43. City of Johannesburg
50. City of Tshwane

54. Firearm and breathing related deaths as a percentage of
non-­natural deaths within each province
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
Discharge from firearm Accidental threats to breathing

55. 45,0%
2,1%
Hospital
Emergency
Room
outpatient
1,8%
Dead on arrival
22,2%
2,9%
Nursing Home
Distribution of deaths by place of death occurrence
*Other,
Unknown
or
Unspecified
26,0%
Home

56. Conclusions
§ The overall number of deaths in South Africa continues to decline
since 2007.
§ The age and sex profile of deaths shows proportion of deaths
shifting from young adults to older age groups, particularly among
females.
§ The profile of the global burden of disease shows that on average
South Africans are dying of non-­communicable diseases.
§ Leading causes show that:
§ Tuberculosis 1st leading cause in 2014 and 2015
§ Diabetes moved up from 3rd position in 2014 to 2nd in 2015
§ Diabetes was 1st among females and 5th amongst males
§ HIV disease was 2nd among males and 6th amongst females

57. § Mortality and causes of death 2016 release scheduled
for November 2017
§ SADHS
§ data collection completed.
§ Currently busy with data analysis
§ The Key Indicator Report (KIR) will be released within
three months.
Next Steps

58. The Mortality report, 2015
is also available to
download from the Stats
SA app