Provisional Mortality Statistics

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Provisional deaths data for measuring changes in patterns of mortality

Reference period
Jan - Dec 2023
Released
26/03/2024

Key statistics

  • 182,038 deaths occurred in 2023, 4.6% lower than 2022.
  • There were 14,795 deaths in December 2023, 4.7% lower than 2022.

This release of the Provisional Mortality Statistics report contains summary mortality statistics only. As previously advertised, detailed Provisional Mortality Statistics releases are published every 2 months, with summary statistics being produced for the alternate months. 

2023: Deaths in review

Number of deaths

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.
Number of deaths by month of occurrence, 2020-23
 2020202120222023
January12,99913,37016,27514,811
February12,51312,02814,09313,019
March13,54913,62914,74814,832
April13,30113,58114,86414,732
May14,02715,04416,49316,618
June13,27014,88317,18216,110
July14,48215,91618,32916,577
August14,86215,41717,76515,972
September13,69614,77515,78314,867
October13,43914,99615,35714,948
November13,04014,05214,80214,757
December13,51314,44715,69614,795

a. Doctor certified and coroner-referred deaths are included.
b. Data is by date of occurrence.
 

Age-standardised death rates

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. 

Selected Causes of death

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. 
Doctor certified deaths by cause, number and share of doctor-certified deaths, 2020-23
   20202020(%)20212021(%)20222022(%)20232023 (%)
Cancer48,30133.949,61832.950,44030.051,04332.0
Dementia15,30610.716,46310.917,63710.516,92010.6
Respiratory diseases11,8848.312,9838.614,4808.614,2899.0
 Chronic lower respiratory diseases6,8174.87,3944.98,0664.87,7654.9
 Influenza and pneumonia1,9761.41,9711.32,6331.62,7111.7
  Pneumonia1,9331.41,9691.32,3451.42,3091.4
Ischaemic heart disease13,6999.614,0979.315,0408.913,2188.3
Other cardiac conditions8,6416.19,6086.410,3196.110,1626.4
Cerebrovascular diseases9,1156.49,3276.29,3275.58,8135.5
Diabetes4,9923.55,0653.45,6593.45,4033.4
COVID-198550.61,2310.89,8405.94,3872.8

a. Only doctor certified deaths are included.
b. Data is by date of occurrence.
 

Australian deaths by week

All-cause deaths

  • 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.

  1. Data is by occurrence.
  2. Data is provisional and subject to change.
  3. Weeks are defined as seven-day periods which start on a Monday as per the ISO week date system. Refer to 'Weekly comparisons' on the methodology page of this publication for more information regarding the data in this graph. Week 1 ended 9 Jan 2022 and 8 Jan 2023.
  4. The baseline includes deaths from 2017-19 and 2021.

Mortality by selected causes of death

Cause-specific mortality

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.

COVID-19

  • 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).

Other causes 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.  
Doctor certified deaths by cause, 2023, 2022, Baseline
   DecemberFull year
   20232022baseline average20232022baseline average
Cancer4,3774,1143,99051,04350,37147,614
Dementia1,2371,4251,20616,92017,61815,234
Respiratory diseases1,1861,1681,02014,28914,39214152
 Chronic lower respiratory diseases6656395797,7658,0227,720
 Influenza and pneumonia2051931822,7112,6143,027
  Pneumonia1761881722,3092,3272,441
Ischaemic heart disease9861,1421,10513,21814,95514,550
Other cardiac conditions  82879172510,16210,2799,121
Cerebrovascular diseases6497307498,8139,3029,525
Diabetes4024413685,4035,6094,689
COVID-19369928na4,3879,840na

a. Only doctor certified deaths are included.
b. Data is by date of occurrence.
c. The baseline includes deaths from 2017-19 and 2021
 

COVID-19 mortality

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.  

Deaths due to COVID-19 by year and month of occurrence (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
Year of death occurrenceJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
20200023791231454731461681906
202121120013983164442612181,356
20221,6461,0344257169298901,4091,13044725445696910,305
20237532322694336335983351611532023993764,544
2024409113nananananananananana522

a. Includes COVID-19 death registrations only. Numbers will differ to disease surveillance systems.
b. Includes all COVID-19 deaths (both doctor and coroner certified) that occurred and were registered by 29 February 2024.
c. All deaths due to COVID-19 in this report have been coded to ICD-10 code U07.1 COVID-19, virus identified; U07.2 COVID-19, virus not identified as the underlying cause of death; or U10.9 Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19.
d. Data is provisional and subject to change.
e. Refer to the methodology for more information regarding the data in this table.
 

COVID-19 registered deaths by age and sex, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
 Number of deaths
Age (years)MalesFemales
0-2942
30-3969
40-491210
50-594222
60-69161106
70-79513313
80-891,009793
90+642900

a. Includes COVID-19 death registrations only. Numbers will differ to disease surveillance systems.
b. Includes all COVID-19 deaths (both doctor and coroner certified) that occurred and were registered by 29 February 2024.
c. Deaths due to COVID-19 in this report have an underlying cause of ICD-10 code U07.1 COVID-19, virus identified; U07.2 COVID-19, virus not identified as the underlying cause of death; or U10.9 Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19.
d. Data is provisional and subject to change.
e. Refer to the methodology for more information regarding the data in this table.
 

Number and proportion of COVID-19 deaths by state of registration, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
 COVID-19 deaths (no.)Proportion of total COVID-19 deaths (%)
NSW1,57434.6
Vic1,18726.1
Qld76916.9
SA3728.2
WA4439.7
Tas1182.6
NT160.4
ACT651.4
Aus4,544100.0

a. Includes COVID-19 death registrations only. Numbers will differ to disease surveillance systems.
b. Includes all COVID-19 deaths (both doctor and coroner certified) that occurred and were registered by 29 February 2024.
c. All deaths due to COVID-19 in this report have been coded to ICD-10 code U07.1 COVID-19, virus identified; U07.2 COVID-19, virus not identified as the underlying cause of death; or U10.9 Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19.
d. Data is provisional and subject to change.
e. Refer to the methodology for more information regarding the data in this table.
 

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. 

COVID-19 related deaths by year and month of occurrence (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
Year of death occurrenceJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
20200001010520009
202100000010414182663
2022231209126216299284469450186981412752,984
202322110811214718719193744953961241455
202413140nananananananananana171

a. Includes COVID-19 death registrations only. Numbers will differ to disease surveillance systems.
b. Includes all COVID-19 deaths (both doctor and coroner certified) that occurred and were registered by 29 February 2023.
c. COVID-19 related deaths have an associated cause of either ICD-10 code U07.1 COVID-19, virus identified; U07.2 COVID-19, virus not identified; or U09 Post COVID-19 condition.
d. Data is provisional and subject to change.
e. Refer to the methodology for more information regarding the data in this table.
 

Data downloads

Provisional Mortality Statistics, Jan - Dec 2023

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 3303.0.55.004

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