3302.0 - Deaths, Australia, 2015 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/09/2016   
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DEATHS


There were 159,052 deaths registered in Australia in 2015, 5,472 more than the number registered in 2014 (153,580). Over three quarters (77.5%) of these deaths were to usual residents of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Since 2005, the number of deaths registered has increased by around 1.9% per year on average for males and 2.0% per year for females, with year-to-year fluctuations (see graph 1.1). For detailed data, see ABS.Stat Datasets - Deaths, Year of registration, Summary data, Sex, States, Territories and Australia, from the Downloads tab.

Graph Image for 1.1 DEATHS REGISTERED - 1915 to 2015

Source(s): Australian Historical Population Statistics (3105.0.65.001); Deaths, Australia (3302.0).



Male and female deaths

There were more male deaths (81,330) registered in 2015 than female deaths (77,722), resulting in a sex ratio of 104.6 male deaths for every 100 female deaths. The distribution of deaths registered in 2015 by age group and sex is illustrated in graph 1.2.

Graph Image for 1.2 DEATHS(a), Australia, Age and sex

Source(s): Deaths, Australia, various years



Footnote(s):
(a) Excludes deaths for which age was not stated.

Median age

In 2015, the median age at death was 78.7 years for males and 85.0 years for females. This was an increase of 0.2 years each for both males and females since 2014. Over the past 10 years, the median age at death has increased by 1.9 years for males and 2.1 years for females at the national level. In 2015, the highest median age at death for males was in Victoria (79.8 years) and for females in South Australia (85.7 years). The lowest medians were in the Northern Territory (63.1 years and 63.7 years respectively).

States and territories

The following table shows the distribution of deaths registered in Australia's states and territories.


1.3 DEATHS REGISTERED, States and territories - 2005, 2014 and 2015
2005
2014
2015
2015
State or territory of usual residence
no.
no.
no.
%
New South Wales
44 894
52 320
53 600
33.7
Victoria
32 605
38 042
39 904
25.1
Queensland
23 584
28 704
29 782
18.7
South Australia
11 984
13 262
13 647
8.6
Western Australia
11 297
13 787
14 448
9.1
Tasmania
3 867
4 476
4 633
2.9
Northern Territory
985
1 168
1 171
0.7
Australian Capital Territory
1 491
1 813
1 859
1.2
Australia(a)
130 714
153 580
159 052
100.0
(a) Includes Other Territories.