Provisional Mortality Statistics

The following section provides a preliminary overview of mortality at the all-cause level for all deaths as well as by selected cause for doctor-certified deaths in 2023. There are some deaths that occurred in 2023 that have not yet been registered and received by the ABS. These deaths will be included in future reports. Causes of death are not presented for coroner-referred deaths due to the time required to complete coronial investigations. More complete analysis on deaths and causes of death registered in 2023 will be published in Deaths, Australia and Causes of Death, Australia in late 2024. 

• There were 182,038 deaths that occurred in 2023 and were registered by 29 February 2024. 
• There were less deaths in all months of 2023 compared to 2022 except for March and May. 
• During the Autumn months of 2023 (March - May), the number of deaths was similar to that occurring for the same time period in 2022. 
• In September and October, the number of deaths in 2023 was comparable to 2021.

Age-standardised rates take into account population size and age structure of a population, enabling comparison of deaths over time. The following graph shows the monthly age-standardised death rates per 100,000 people for the past 4 years.

• For every month, the mortality rate was lower in 2023 than 2022. This difference is particularly noticeable in January, July and August, which coincide with peaks in Omicron waves in 2022.
• Overall the standardised death rate was very similar in 2023 to 2021 (509.5 per 100,000 people in 2023 compared to 509.0 in 2021). 
• Monthly mortality rates were higher in 2023 than in 2021 for the first half of the year and lower than 2021 in the second half of the year.
• Monthly mortality rates were generally higher in 2023 than in 2020. 
• In most years, the highest monthly mortality rates occur in winter (typically July or August). This was different in 2023, when the highest mortality rate occurred in May. 

The following table shows the number of doctor certified deaths by selected cause, as well as the proportion of deaths by that cause for total doctor certified mortality. 

• Deaths due to COVID-19 accounted for 2.8% of doctor certified deaths in 2023. This has more than halved when compared to 2022, where deaths due to COVID-19 accounted for 5.9% of doctor certified deaths.  
• The proportion of deaths from all respiratory diseases (9.0%) was higher in 2023 than the previous 3 years. 
• The proportion of deaths from ischaemic heart disease continued to decline in 2023. 

• 182,038 deaths occurred in 2023 and were registered by 29 February 2024. This is 4.6% lower than the 190,775 deaths that occurred in 2022.
• In December 2023 there were 14,795 deaths, 4.7% less than in 2022. The age-standardised death rate for December 2023 was 34.6, lower than in 2022 (37.4) and slightly below the baseline average (35.1). 
• 12,835 of the deaths occurring in December 2023 were doctor certified and 1,960 were coroner referred. 

Deaths are presented by counts only. Counts of death do not account for changes in population.

The following analysis is based only on doctor certified deaths (i.e. coroner referred deaths are not included). Any changes in patterns of coroner referral could affect counts of doctor certified deaths. Some conditions have higher coroner referral rates (ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases and to a lesser extent, respiratory diseases and diabetes) so counts for those conditions are more likely to be affected by such changes.

• In December 2023 there were 369 deaths due to COVID-19 that were certified by a doctor. This is 60.2% lower than the 928 deaths in December 2022.
• There have been 4,387 deaths due to COVID-19 certified by a doctor in 2023. This is 55.4% lower than the 9,840 deaths recorded in 2022.
• As the pandemic has progressed the number of people dying 'with' COVID-19 has increased. In December, 124 people died with COVID-19 as a contributing factor to their death (ie. COVID-19 was certified on the death certificate but it was not the underlying cause of death).

• Deaths due to ischaemic heart disease were 10.8% below the baseline average in December 2023 and 13.7% lower than December 2022. 
• Deaths due to cerebrovascular diseases were 13.4% below than the baseline average in December 2023 and 11.1% lower than December 2022.  
• Deaths due to dementia including Alzheimer's disease were comparable to the baseline average in December 2023, but 13.2% below December 2022. 
• Deaths due to respiratory diseases in December 2023 were comparable to December 2022, but 16.3% higher than the baseline average.  

Of the 702,592 death registrations received by the ABS (both doctor and coroner certified) in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic, 22,315 (3.2%) are of people who have died from or with COVID-19. Tabulations listed below include COVID-19 deaths by year of occurrence, state or territory of registration and by age.  

COVID-19 related deaths are where the deceased died with COVID-19 (and it was a significant factor), but it did not directly cause death. There have been 1,455 COVID-19 related deaths in 2023. In all months this year, the number of COVID-19 related deaths has been lower than in 2022. 

This release previously used catalogue number 3303.0.55.004