Cancer is once again the leading cause of death among Spaniards.

In 2024, there were 433,357 deaths in Spain, only 194 more than last year on the same date, according to provisional data from the report Deaths by Cause of Death , published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics ( INE ), which for the second consecutive year places tumors as the leading cause of death in 2024 , with 26.6% of total deaths, followed by diseases of the circulatory system (26%).

By sex, 218,746 men and 214,801 women died. The crude mortality rate was 888.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The male mortality rate was 914.2 deaths per 100,000 men and the female mortality rate was 863.4 deaths per 100,000 women.

95.8% of deaths were due to natural causes and 4.2% to external causes. In this case, in 2024 there were 18,304 deaths from external causes, 271 more than the previous year (1.5%). By sex, 11,531 men died (0.6% more than in 2023) and 6,773 women (3.1% more).

Accidental falls were the leading cause of external death for the second consecutive year, with 4,407 deaths (a 6% increase). The second cause was suicide, with 3,846, a 6.6% decrease compared to 2023. This was closely followed by accidental drowning, submersion, and suffocation with 3,664, and finally, traffic accidents with 1,810.

Covid drops out of the top 15

At a more detailed level, among tumors, bronchial and lung cancer was the most frequent cause (with 23,239 deaths, 1.9% more than in 2023), followed by colon cancer (10,434 deaths, 4.6% less).

Among deaths from circulatory system diseases, ischemic heart disease was the most common cause of death in 2024, with 26,851 deaths, 3.2% fewer than in 2023. Cerebrovascular diseases were the most common cause, with 22,786 deaths (2.7% fewer).

Among the most common diseases, the largest increases in deaths were those from kidney failure (up 10.3%) and pneumonia (up 7.7%). Also notable is the increase in cases of dementia , up 3.7% from 20,822 in 2020 to 21,962 in 2024. In contrast, the most significant decreases were those from colon cancer (down 4.6%) and diabetes (down 3.9%).

For the first time since its emergence in 2020, COVID-19 was not among the 15 leading causes of death in Spain in 2024 ; during the three-year period 2020-2022, it was the most common cause.

By sex, ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death among men (16,892 deaths), followed by bronchial and lung cancer (16,560) and cerebrovascular disease (10,131). Among women , the most common causes were dementia (14,769 deaths), cerebrovascular disease (12,655), and heart failure (11,060).

Results by autonomous communities

Regarding the main causes of death, the largest increases in deaths from tumors were recorded in the autonomous city of Ceuta (10.2%), Navarra (7.4%), and Asturias (6.6%). The largest decreases were in La Rioja (-2.4%), Galicia (-2.3%), and Aragon (-1.8%).

The largest increases in deaths from circulatory system diseases occurred in the Balearic Islands (9.2%), Galicia (1.9%), and the Basque Country (0.8%). In contrast, the largest decreases occurred in the autonomous cities of Melilla (-14.9%) and Ceuta (-9.4%), and in the Canary Islands (-8.5%).

La Rioja saw the largest increase in deaths from respiratory diseases (44.2%), followed by Castile and León (14.1%) and the Basque Country (13.5%). Deaths from these diseases only decreased in the autonomous city of Melilla (-7.8%).