Causes of Death, Australia

There were 183,131 deaths registered in 2023, a 4.1% decline from 2022 when Australia recorded significant excess mortality. During 2023, the Director-General of the World Health Organization announced an end to the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Australia there were 5,001 deaths registered that were due to COVID-19, decreasing from 9,862 deaths in 2022, with the virus now being the ninth leading cause of death (down from third in 2022). Deaths due to the virus weren't the only cause to decline - with the exception of bowel cancer, all of the top 10 leading causes decreased including ischaemic heart disease, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease. Decreases in the mortality rate were seen across all age groups for males and females. 

While the age-standardised mortality rate stabilised in 2023 (513.0 per 100,000 people) compared to the 2022 (547.6 per 100,000 people), the rate was still higher than "expected". Previous analysis by the ABS found that there was approximately 5% excess mortality in 2023 (higher than expected mortality). This is because with an increasing and ageing population as well as continued improvements in health care and treatment, the number of deaths should be increasing over time, but there should be a corresponding decrease in the mortality rate. While the rate is lower than 2022, it is still higher than those recorded in 2020 and 2021 which are the two lowest age-standardised death rates on record. For females, the rate is similar to that recorded in 2018. For more information on excess mortality in 2023, see Measuring Australia's excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic until December 2023.

The top 5 leading causes of death returned to ischaemic heart disease, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases. The first and second leading causes of death in Australia are the closest they have ever been, with less than 250 deaths separating ischaemic heart disease and dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. With an ageing population the number of deaths from dementia has been increasing for a number of years and has been the leading cause of death for women since 2016. In 2023, ischaemic heart disease, accounted for 9.2% of deaths and dementia 9.1%. In its peak in 1968, ischaemic heart disease accounted for 30.5% of deaths. During this year dementia accounted for 0.2% of deaths. Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease is now the leading cause of death in New South Wales for the first time, joining South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. See Australia's leading causes of death for more information.  

The graph in the next section shows the annual age-standardised death rate over the last 10 years. It demonstrates the reduction in rates over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in 2022 and the subsequent decrease in 2023. 

To show the mortality pattern over the last decade, age-standardised death rates (SDRs) are presented below for males, females and persons.

In 2023:

• There were 183,131 deaths with a mortality rate of 513.0 deaths per 100,000 people.
• The mortality rate decreased by 6.3% from 2022, after an increase of 8.0% between 2021 and 2022. The rate in 2023 is lower than pre-pandemic rates, but higher than those recorded in 2020 and 2021. 
• 52.5% of deaths were male (96,180) and 47.5% were female (86,951).
• Mortality rates decreased by 6.3% for males and 6.4% for females.
• The median age at death was 82.0 years (79.6 for males, 84.6 for females).

Deaths data is presented in the table below as age-specific death rates (ASDRs) for selected age groups for males, females and persons. 

In 2023:

• Age-specific death rates decreased across all age groups.
• The greatest proportionate decrease in the age-specific death rate occurred for females aged less than 25 years (a decrease of 11.4% compared with 2022).
• Death rates for those aged less than 45 years were the lowest in the 10-year time series. This was also the case for males aged less than 45 years.
• For females, the death rate for those aged 25-44 years was lower between 2018 and 2021.
• Over half (55.5%) of all deaths were of people aged 80 years and older.
• The median age at death was 82.0 years (79.6 for males and 84.6 for females).

Potentially avoidable mortality is defined as deaths of people under 75 years of age that arise from conditions that may be avoided through individualised care, or treated through primary care or hospitalisation (METeOR, 2021). Conditions causing potentially avoidable deaths include natural diseases (e.g., specific types of cancer, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, and infectious diseases) and external causes of death (e.g., accidents, suicides, and assaults). To enable comparisons over time, all rates presented in this section are age-standardised, which takes into account changes in the structure and size of the population over time.

In 2023, there were 28,112 potentially avoidable deaths (17,805 males and 10,307 females). Of these, 39.7% were referred to a coroner (compared to 12.5% of all deaths). Data from 2023 is preliminary and comparisons made with numbers of potentially avoidable deaths from previous years should be interpreted with caution.

In 2023:

• There was a decrease of potentially avoidable deaths from 2022 when there were 28,935 potentially avoidable deaths (18,357 males and 10,578 females). 
• The age-standardised death rate for potentially avoidable deaths was 97.2 deaths per 100,000 people. This is similar to the rate in 2021 which was 97.0 and a return to the downward trend after a rate increase in 2022.
• Overall, 25.3% of potentially avoidable deaths were from external causes of death (18.0% for females; 29.5% for males). 
• While the age-standardised death rate has decreased for both males and females, the sex ratio has remained relatively constant at 1.8 (male to female).

Suicide counts for 2023 are expected to change when the data is revised. The preliminary suicide data is important for the insights into the demographic profile and risk factors for those who died by suicide in 2023. The Causes of Death publication includes three articles on deaths due to suicide, see Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia, Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia and Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Key statistics for 2023 include:

• There were 3,214 deaths due to suicide (2,419 males and 795 females). This number is preliminary and is expected to increase as coronial investigations are finalised. 
• The age-standardised suicide rate was 11.8 deaths per 100,000 people.
• Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death.
• The median age at death for people who died by suicide was 45.5 years (45.8 years for males and 44.4 years for females).
• 83.3% of people who died by suicide had risk factors identified. This proportion is expected to increase. The most commonly recorded suicide risk factors included mood affective disorders (including depression) (F30-F39), suicide ideation (R45.8), problems with spousal relationships (Z63.0, Z63.5) and personal history of self-harm (Z91.5). For more information see Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia.
• For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the median age of death by suicide was 33.0 years (35.1 years for males and 27.9 years for females).
• Victoria is included in analysis for deaths due to suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the first time. This change occurred due to a methodological change, specifically using additional sources to derive Indigenous status in deaths due to suicide. For more information see Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.

• There were 1,290 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 2023 (964 males and 326 females). This compares to 1,278 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 2022 (967 males and 311 females).
• While there was an increase in the number of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents, when adjusted for age-structure and population structure, death rate decreased by 1.9% from 2022. 
• The death rate decreased by 2.4% for males from 2022 and by 2.0% for females.
• Males 10-24 years had the largest numerical increase by age group with 26 more deaths due to motor vehicle accidents than 2022. The largest decrease was seen in those aged 60-74 years with 31 fewer deaths due to motor vehicle accidents than 2022. 
• For females, the age group with the largest numerical increase was 85 years and older with 16 more deaths due to motor vehicle accidents than 2022. The largest decrease was in those aged 10-24 years with 14 fewer deaths than 2022. 
• In 2023, 85.0% of motor vehicle accident deaths occurred in those aged under 75 years.

Data from 2023 is preliminary and comparisons made with numbers of deaths due to assaults from previous years should be interpreted with caution. Revised data for deaths registered in 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be published in early 2025. 

In 2023:

• There were 235 deaths due to assault (161 males and 74 females). This is similar to 2022 where 236 deaths due to assault were recorded (164 males and 72 females).
• The age-standardised death rate for assault remained at 0.9 deaths per 100,000 people from 2022 to 2023. 
• Those aged 30-34 years had the largest numerical decrease in deaths due to assault for males since 2022, while for females this same age group had the largest increase (7 fewer assault deaths in males, 10 more assault deaths in females).

Perpetrator of assaults

Some of these statistics may cause distress. Services you can contact are in the Crisis support services section.

In 2023:

• For females who died by assault, the perpetrator was most likely to be a spouse or partner (48.6%). Over half of these deaths occurred in females aged 25-44 years (58.3%).
• The sex ratio for deaths due to assault where the perpetrator was a spouse or partner was 9.0 (females to males).
• For males who died by assault, when the perpetrator relationship is known to the ABS, the perpetrator was most often an acquaintance or friend (30.4%).
• There were 106 deaths due to assault where the perpetrator is either not reported to the ABS or the deceased is a stranger. This number will likely decrease as coronial investigations progress and more information becomes available to the ABS. 
• The sex ratio for deaths where the perpetrator was a parent or other family member was 4.0 (males to females).

Drug-induced deaths are those which are directly attributable to drug use. They include deaths due to acute drug toxicity (e.g., overdose) and chronic drug use (e.g., drug-induced cardiac conditions).

On average, 97% of drug-induced deaths are certified by a coroner. Multiple complex factors must be considered when a death is certified as drug induced. These factors include:

• The timing between the death and toxicology testing which can influence the levels and types of drugs detected, making it difficult to determine the true level of a drug at the time of death.
• Individual tolerance levels may vary considerably depending on factors such as sex, body mass and previous drug exposure.
• Contextual factors such as preexisting natural disease and reports from informants (e.g., friends and families) regarding the circumstances of the death.

For these reasons, it can take a significant amount of time to certify a death as drug-induced, making these deaths particularly sensitive to the revisions process.

Data is presented below for 2023 only. This data is preliminary and a more complete count of deaths for drug-induced deaths is not yet available meaning that comparisons to previous years can be misleading. Time series for drug-induced deaths are included in the data downloads. Revised data for drug-induced deaths registered in 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be published in early 2025. 

The graph below shows the age distribution for drug-induced deaths and the proportion of those deaths that occurred within each age group.

In 2023:

• There were 1,635 drug-induced deaths (1,060 males and 575 females). This is expected to increase.
• The sex ratio for drug-induced deaths was 1.8 (male to female). 
• The median age at death for drug-induced deaths was 47.9 years (46.8 years for males and 50.7 years for females).
• The highest proportion of deaths for both males and females was for those aged 45-54 years.
• A higher proportion of drug-induced deaths for females are in the older age groups than for males.
• Age-standardised death rates for those who resided in greater capital cities was 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people, while the rate for people who resided outside greater capital cities was 6.2. 
• Opioids were the most common drug class identified in toxicology for drug-induced deaths.

Alcohol-induced deaths are those where the underlying cause can be directly attributed to alcohol use, including acute conditions such as alcohol poisoning or chronic conditions such as alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

On average, 69% of alcohol-induced deaths are certified by a doctor. These deaths are primarily caused by chronic alcohol-induced conditions. As a result, alcohol-induced deaths data is less likely to be impacted by ABS revisions than causes with a higher proportion of coroner referral such as drug-induced deaths and suicides.

In 2023:

• There were 1,667 alcohol-induced deaths (1,182 males and 485 females).
• 90.2% of alcohol-induced deaths were caused by chronic alcohol-induced conditions.
• The alcohol-induced standardised death rate fell from 6.2 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 5.6 in 2023, the same level as in 2021. Between 2018 and 2022 the death rate increased steadily from 4.7 to 6.2.
• The alcohol-induced standardised death rate for males fell from 8.9 in 2022 to 8.1 in 2023, slightly above the level in 2020. Between 2018 and 2022 the death rate increased steadily from 7.1 to 8.9.
• The alcohol-induced standardised death rate for females fell from 3.6 in 2022 to 3.3 in 2023, but remains above the rates prior to 2022. Between 2018 and 2022 the death rate increased from 2.4 to 3.6. 

There were 183,131 deaths registered in Australia in 2023, a decrease of 7,808 deaths from 2022. The age-standardised mortality rate decreased to 513.0 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 547.6 the previous year. Identifying and comparing leading causes of death in populations is useful for tracking changes in patterns of mortality and identifying emerging trends. For more information related to the tabulation of leading causes, see the Methodology section of this publication. Key statistics for the leading causes of death in 2023 are:

• The leading cause of death was ischaemic heart disease, accounting for 9.2% of deaths. The gap between ischaemic heart disease and dementia (the second leading cause of death) has continued to narrow over time, with only 237 deaths separating the top two leading causes in 2023. For more details, see Ischaemic heart disease and Dementia - understanding change over time.
• Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease was the second leading cause of death and accounted for 9.1% of deaths. People who died from dementia had a high median age at death of 88.7 years.
• Cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases rounded out the top 5 leading causes. 
• COVID-19 was the ninth leading cause of death in 2023, after ranking third in 2022. 
• Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death. People who died by suicide had a median age at death of 45.5 years.
• The top 5 leading causes accounted for approximately one-third of all registered deaths. 

Leading causes of death over the last decade (since 2014): 

• Deaths due to ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease decreased by 16.5% and 12.9% respectively.
• Deaths due to dementia, including Alzheimer's disease increased by 39.1%, resulting in a narrowing with deaths due to ischaemic heart disease. 
• Deaths from accidental falls increased by 70.3% over the period. Accidental falls are the 11th leading cause of death, compared to the 16th a decade ago. They are the highest ranked external cause of death. Accidental falls have a high median age at death at 87.4 years. Common complications from falls leading to death including hip fractures, immobility and pneumonia. 

Age-standardised death rates enable the comparison of death rates over time as they account for changes in the size and age structure of the population. Refer to Mortality tabulations and methodologies, Age-standardised death rates (SDRs) in the Methodology section of this publication for more information.

For age-standardised death rates between 2014 to 2023:

• Ischaemic heart disease decreased by 33.6% over the decade. The standardised death rate for ischaemic heart disease in 2023 is the lowest since official cause of death statistics began collection in 1968.  
• The gap between ischaemic heart disease and dementia has narrowed over time.
• While the number of dementia deaths has increased over the 10-year period, the age-standardised death rate for dementia has been more stable, reflecting an ageing population.
• Cerebrovascular disease decreased by 31.2%.
• Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (lung cancer) decreased by 16.6%.
• Chronic lower respiratory diseases decreased by 17.9%. 

Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a measure of premature mortality which weights age at death to gain an estimate of how many years a person would have lived had they not died prematurely. Causes of death with a median age less than the life expectancy will have a higher number of YPLL. When considered in terms of premature mortality, the leading causes of death have a notably different profile. Refer to Mortality tabulations and methodologies - Years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the Methodology section of this publication for more information.

In 2023:

• Suicide is a leading cause of premature death accounting for the highest number of potential years of life lost (107,537). People who died by suicide had a median age at death of 45.5 years.
• Ischaemic heart disease had the highest number of deaths occurring in those aged under 78 but the second highest number of YPLL at 71,028 years. People who died from ischaemic heart disease had a median age at death of 83.4 years.
• People who died from lung cancer, transport accidents and accidental poisoning had the third, fourth and fifth highest YPLL, with median ages at 75.2, 44.6 and 46.0 years, respectively.

For the 96,180 males who died in 2023:

• Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death (10,343 deaths). While it remains considerably higher than the second ranked cause (dementia at 6,111 deaths) the rate ratio has narrowed over time. For example, 10 years ago, the rate of ischaemic heart disease was over two and half time higher than that of dementia. In 2023, the mortality rate of ischaemic heart disease is 1.7 times higher than that of dementia. 
• Prostate cancer was the sixth leading cause of death and second leading cause of cancer death.
• COVID-19 was the 10th leading cause of death (2,644 deaths), down from third in 2022 (5,485 deaths). 
• Suicide was the 11th leading cause. Three-quarters (75.3%) of people who died by suicide were male. Deaths due to suicide were the highest ranked external cause of death in males. 

For males from 2014 to 2023:

• The death rate for ischaemic heart disease decreased by 29.9%.
• The death rate for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease increased by 7.6%.

For the 86,951 females who died in 2023:

• Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease was the leading cause of death (10,574 deaths).
• Ischaemic heart disease was the second leading cause with 6,579 deaths.
• COVID-19 was the 10th leading cause of death, after ranking fourth in 2022. 
• Breast cancer was the sixth leading cause overall and second leading cause of cancer deaths with 3,215 deaths.

For females from 2014 to 2023:

• The death rate for dementia increased by 11.0% over the last decade. Close to two-thirds (63.4%) of people who died from dementia were female.
• The death rate for ischaemic heart disease decreased by 39.7%. 

The leading cause of death profile for Australia is not the same across all jurisdictions. The table below shows the top 10 leading causes of death for each state and territory in 2023.

Leading causes of death for states and territories in 2023:

• Ischaemic heart disease was the top leading cause of death in each jurisdiction, except for New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.  
• Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of death in New South Wales for the first time. New South Wales is now the third jurisdiction where dementia is the leading cause, joining the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. 
• Deaths from external causes contribute to a greater proportion of mortality in the Northern Territory when compared with other jurisdictions. Transport accidents and intentional self-harm were the sixth and ninth ranked leading causes. 
• Diabetes was the second leading cause of death in the Northern Territory. 7.9% of all deaths in the Northern Territory were due to diabetes, compared to 3.2% nationally. 
• COVID-19 ranged between the seventh and 10th leading cause of death in most jurisdictions. The only exception was the Northern Territory where the virus was ranked 15th.

The table below presents a time series of leading causes of death for selected years from 1968 to 2023. 

Leading causes of death between 1968 and 2023: 

• With the exception of COVID-19 displacing chronic lower respiratory diseases in 2022, the top 5 leading causes of death remained the same between 2006 and 2023, with some variance in rankings. 
• While deaths due to ischaemic heart disease have been the leading cause of death since 1968, they have decreased by 49.4%. Between 1968 and 1978 ischaemic heart disease accounted for 30% of all deaths. This compares to less than 10% in 2023.
• In 1968 dementia, including Alzheimer's disease contributed to 0.2% of all deaths, compared to 9.1% in 2023. Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease first appeared in the top 5 leading causes of death in 2006.
• Cerebrovascular disease was ranked second from 1968 until 2013, when dementia, including Alzheimer's disease became the second leading cause of death. Between 1968 and 2023, deaths due to cerebrovascular disease have decreased by 39.1%.
• Influenza and pneumonia most recently appeared in the top 5 leading causes of death in 1970. While the number of deaths has remained relatively stable across years, their relative contribution to all deaths has decreased due to our growing population. 
• Transport accidents consistently ranked in the top 5 leading causes from 1968 until 1978. Between 1968 and 2023, deaths due to transport accidents have decreased by 61.6%, and are now the 30th leading cause of death in 2023. 
• Since the 1970's, deaths due to lung cancer have consistently accounted for 4-6% of deaths each year. 

Deaths due to ischaemic heart disease in Australia have been declining in both number and rate for decades, while over the past two decades deaths due to dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease have increased. In fact, over the past 50 years the mortality rate for ischaemic heart disease has decreased by 87.9% while the rate for dementia has increased by 842.8%. There is an expectation that if mortality continues to follow expected trajectories, dementia will be the leading cause of death in Australia in coming years. This is already the case for females (since 2016) and in New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. 

The COVID-19 pandemic affected mortality for both ischaemic heart disease and dementia between 2020 and 2022. Mortality for both decreased in 2020 when there was a low rate of transmission of acute respiratory diseases in the community, while both increased in 2022, likely because of high numbers of COVID-19 infections during the Omicron wave of the pandemic. Despite these unexpected movements, the gap between numbers of deaths from ischaemic heart disease and dementia has continued to narrow, with only 237 more deaths from the former recorded in 2023.

The table below shows some of these changes for selected years over the last 50 years.

The change in these leading causes of death is due to a number of factors. These likely include: 

• Improved health care and medical interventions for ischaemic heart disease, such as coronary artery bypass grafts and treatment of risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol have contributed to reduced mortality. 
• Dementia is most common in people aged over 65 years – with an increasing ageing population in Australia, this has meant that there are more deaths due to dementia over time. It is important to note that dementia is not an inevitable or expected part of ageing and it can occur in people of all ages.
• With an ageing population, people are more likely to have multiple comorbidities and present with complex pathways to death. Many of these conditions may be certified on a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). 9.4% of people who die from dementia also have ischaemic heart disease certified as a comorbidity. While the ABS leading causes of death are tabulated based on the underlying cause, all conditions listed on the MCCD are coded and included in multiple cause outputs. 
• There has been some change in how deaths are certified – dementia is now more likely to be certified by a doctor as having caused death (pneumonia, aspiration pneumonia and urinary tract infections are the most common terminal causes leading to death which are a result of dementia). This means that dementia is more likely to be tabulated by the ABS as an underlying cause of death. Some of the change in certification may be related to enhanced knowledge of the disease and diagnosis in the community. 

The graph below shows ischaemic heart disease and dementia as both an underlying cause of death and a contributory cause of death (also known as associated cause of death) from 1997. This is when the ABS started recording information on all conditions certified on the MCCD. It shows: 

• Ischaemic heart disease is still a significant burden on mortality. While it is decreasing as an underlying cause of death, it has been increasing as an associated cause of death.
• In total in 2023, ischaemic heart disease was listed as a factor for 35,106 deaths. Of these, it was the underlying cause for 16,922 deaths and was a contributing factor in a further 18,184 deaths. 
• In 1997, when dementia was certified on the MCCD it was tabulated as the underlying cause in just over 30% of deaths. Since 2015, dementia was the underlying cause in over 50% of cases where it is certified on the MCCD.
• The opposite is true for ischaemic heart disease. In 1997, it was an underlying cause in approximately three quarters of deaths where it was certified. Since 2020, it was the underlying cause in less than 50% of deaths where it is certified as a factor contributing to death. 

Across Australia in 2023, there were 5,256 deaths registered of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (2,890 males and 2,366 females). The table below presents for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: numbers of deaths, crude death rates and age-standardised mortality rates for each jurisdiction in 2023. Age-standardised rates enable the comparison of populations with different age structures. 

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people:

• Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death (553 deaths). 
• Intentional self-harm remains the fifth leading cause of death (275 deaths).
• The Northern Territory has the highest mortality rate (both crude rates and age-standardised). 

Measures of mortality relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are key inputs into the Closing the Gap strategy. This strategy aims to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to overcome inequality and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians across areas such as life expectancy, education and employment. In July 2020 all Australian governments committed to 17 targets under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (Australian Government, 2020). Mortality data is a key indicator to measure progress against these targets, one of which is to reduce the suicide rate. 

In 2023 there were 4,664 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died across the five jurisdictions (NSW, Qld, SA, WA and NT). 

• The median age at death was 63.7 years. This has increased by more than 8 years over the last two decades (55.0 years in 2004) and is the highest recorded for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death for males. Intentional self-harm was the second leading cause of death.
• Diabetes was the leading cause of death for females.

To measure changes over time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, age-standardised death rates for males, females and all persons are presented in the graph below.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died between 2014 and 2023: 

• The overall mortality rate in 2023 (983.0 per 100,000 people) remained similar when compared to 2022 (1,006.0).
• During this time improvements have been made to identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in the ABS mortality dataset (see graph). These changes mean that a higher number of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are identified in the dataset, with a subsequent increase in mortality rates. This should be considered when interpreting time series as increases may represent improved representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the mortality data. 
• The rate is consistently higher for males compared to females.
• The rate ratio ranged between 1.2 to 1.3 male deaths for every female death.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females who died in 2023: 

• Four of the top 5 leading causes of death for males were the same compared to females. They were ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
• Intentional self-harm was the second leading cause of death for males in 2023, compared to eighth for females. 
• Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease was the fifth leading cause of death for females and the 10th leading cause for males.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died between 2014 and 2023:

• The top 5 leading causes remained the same across the period (ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, lung cancer and intentional self-harm) and accounted for over one-third of all deaths. 
• Intentional self-harm remains the fifth leading cause of death in 2023. 
• The median age at death increased from 58.3 years in 2014 to 63.7 years in 2023.
• There was a decrease in median age for chronic lower respiratory diseases for males, and dementia for females. Increases were recorded for all other causes.
• The rate for deaths due to ischaemic heart disease decreased over the ten-year period for total persons and females. 

Mortality data can provide important insights into population health concerns relevant to different groups within the Australian population. Patterns of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people differ to those of non-Indigenous people. Mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are generally higher than those for non-Indigenous people. 

In 2023, the median age at death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 63.7 years and 82.2 years for non-Indigenous people, a difference of close to 20 years. Over time, the gap in median age between the two populations has decreased. In 2014 the difference in median age was 23.7 years, when the median age of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 58.3 years and 82.0 years for non-Indigenous people.

The top 20 leading causes of death in 2023 by Indigenous status show:

• Overall, the age-standardised mortality rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 1.9 times the rate of death for non-Indigenous people. 
• Age-standardised mortality rates are higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for all 20 leading causes of death.
• The top 5 leading causes of death also had the largest rate differences, with the largest being for deaths due to diabetes (rate difference of 57.7). 
• Deaths due to diabetes also have the largest rate ratio, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people recording a rate almost 5 times higher than that of non-Indigenous people. 
• The second highest rate ratio is for deaths due to accidental drug-induced deaths, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people recording a rate almost 4 times higher than that of non-Indigenous people. 
• COVID-19 is not in the top 10 leading causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (12th) but is ninth for non-Indigenous people.

In 2023:

• 3,214 deaths have been initially classified as being due to suicide. This number is preliminary with an expectation that there will be an increase in some jurisdictions as more coronial information becomes available to the ABS.
• The crude suicide rate was 12.1 per 100,000 people.
• The age-standardised suicide rate was 11.8 per 100,000 people.
• Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death.

When the ABS first releases causes of death data for a reference year, the information is considered to be preliminary. This is because some deaths (such as those from suicide) that are referred to a coroner can take time to be fully investigated, which can influence what information is available to assign a cause of death code during the ABS coding process. This can impact on data quality as less specific ICD-10 codes may need to be applied. 

As the ABS receives further updates on a coronial case, the death is re-analysed by the mortality coding team and if necessary, updated ICD-10 codes are applied. This is referred to as the revisions process and is conducted three times by the ABS – a preliminary revision, a secondary revision and a final revision. See Methodology: Revisions to causes of death, 2021-2023 for more information on the revisions process. In this current publication, suicide data for 2023 is preliminary, 2022 data has undergone a preliminary revision, 2021 data a secondary revision and data for 2020 and earlier is considered final.

The following impacts of the revisions process should be considered when interpreting preliminary suicide data:

1. The number of deaths due to suicide typically increase over the revisions period. For the years 2014-2020, suicide counts increased by an average of 2.2% from preliminary to final. The impact of revisions on suicide counts differs by jurisdiction:
   • For deaths registered in New South Wales, there was a 3.9% average increase in the suicide count from preliminary to final (2014-2020).
   • For deaths registered in Victoria, there was a 2.5% increase.
   • For deaths registered in Queensland, there was a 2.1% increase.
   • Suicide counts for other jurisdictions increased by less than 1.0% on average.
2. Time series analysis for data that is not final (preliminary, preliminary revised and revised) should be undertaken with caution. For example, when comparing 2023 data with that for 2022 or 2021, the revisions process and its impact on data should be noted. Highlighting increases or decreases for data that is still subject to revisions may not be appropriate in some circumstances.
3. When deaths are reassigned to a suicide as part of the revisions cycle they are most likely to have been coded to an external cause where the intent is not known when initially coded (it is not clear if the death was due to an accident or suicide) or an external cause of unknown mechanism (the injury is available for coding, but there is no indication with initial reports that this is a death due to suicide). A small number of deaths (between 5 and 25 on average) are reassigned to suicide from an unspecified cause of mortality (there is no information available on intent or mechanism during initial coding). The number of cases coded to these causes (ICD-10 codes Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99) should be looked at to gain an understanding of how much change may be anticipated to occur over the revisions process.
4. Completeness differs across jurisdictions. The number of deaths coded to ICD-10 codes Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99 should be looked at by jurisdiction to gain an understanding of data quality and completeness for each jurisdiction in 2023.

The table below shows the number of deaths coded to Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99 by jurisdiction for 2021-2023. The data for 2021 has undergone two revisions processes and for 2022 one revision process. For 2023, New South Wales has a high number of deaths coded to less defined codes. While it is not known what additional information will be available for these cases, it is likely that the number of deaths due to suicide in New South Wales will increase when the first revision is applied to the 2023 data (due early 2025). The New South Wales Suicide Monitoring System also collects and publishes data on suicides and suspected suicides, sourced from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice's information system. Monthly reports can be found at the following page: NSW Suicide Monitoring System - Towards Zero Suicides.

Despite expected changes in 2023 suicide counts, the publication of preliminary suicide data for 2023 still provides important insights into the demographic profile and risk factors for those who died by suicide in 2023. This includes information on age, country of birth and remoteness areas. Demographic analyses of preliminary suicide data for 2023 can be found below. For information on risk factors for suicide in 2023, see Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia.

In order to measure changes over time, age-standardised suicide rates for males, females and all persons are presented in the graph below. Upper and lower bounds (confidence intervals) are included to show the potential variability of the annual suicide rates and can be used in measuring statistical significance of the annual rate change.

For males in 2023:

• 2,419 deaths have been initially identified as being due to suicide. This preliminary number is expected to increase.
• Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death.
• The median age at death for those who died by suicide was 45.8 years. 
• Over three-quarters (75.3%) of people who died by suicide were male.
• Whilst the suicide rate for males appears to have decreased since 2022, it should not be reported as such. Further revisions of the 2023 dataset will provide more accurate data for time series comparisons.

For females in 2023:

• There were 795 deaths due to suicide.
• Suicide was the 26th leading cause of death. 
• The median age at death for those who died by suicide was 44.4 years. 
• Whilst the suicide rate for females appears to have decreased since 2022, it should not be reported as such. Further revisions of the 2023 dataset will provide more accurate data for time series comparisons.

In 2023:

• Three-quarters of people who died by suicide had a usual residence in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
• Those living in the Northern Territory had the highest suicide rate at 17.0 per 100,000 people.
• New South Wales was more heavily impacted by administrative factors than other jurisdictions. This has prevented an accurate preliminary suicide count from being presented for New South Wales.
  • At the time of 2023 preliminary coding, New South Wales had a larger number of open coronial cases than any other jurisdiction (i.e., a larger number of cases where a coronial finding was yet to be made).
  • Time series analyses and commentary for New South Wales should consider administrative factors until further causes of death revisions are conducted. See 'How should preliminary ABS data on suicide be interpreted?' above for more information. 

Between 2022 and 2023:

• The suicide rate increased in Western Australia and Tasmania.
• For Victoria and Queensland, the suicide rate is similar to that recorded in 2022. 
• For South Australia and the Northern Territory, suicide rates appeared to decrease in 2023, but the number of suicides remained similar to 2022. 
• The number of suicides and the suicide rate for the Australian Capital Territory appeared to decrease in 2023. As the smallest jurisdiction, any impact of administrative factors such as registration delays may be more pronounced for the Australian Capital Territory .
• Interpretation of time series data should be made with caution given suicide counts may change with revisions to causes of death for 2023.

Understanding how suicide manifests across key demographics is important in helping to target policies and prevention activities. The graph below shows the age distribution for those who died by suicide and the proportion of those deaths that occurred within each age cohort.

In 2023:

• Young and middle-aged people were more likely to die by suicide than those in older age cohorts.
• 82.5 percent of people who died by suicide were aged under 65 years.
• People who died by suicide had a median age of 45.5 years compared to 82.0 years for all deaths.
• The proportional distribution of those aged under 20 years who died by suicide differed for males and females:
  • For females, 8.2% of suicides occurred in those aged under 20 years.
  • For males 4.3% of suicides occurred in those aged under 20 years.

Age-specific death rates show how suicide manifests across age cohorts by relating the number of deaths to the size and structure of the underlying population.

In 2023: 

• Males aged between 55-59 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate (30.9 per 100,000 people).
• Males aged between 40-44 years accounted for the highest proportion of deaths due to suicide (9.9%).

Between 2022 and 2023:

• Males aged between 55-59 years had the largest increase in their age-specific suicide rate (up 5.7 deaths per 100,000)
• Males aged under 20 years, had an increase in their age-specific suicide rate. 
• Males aged 85 years and over had the largest decrease in their age-specific suicide rate (down 6.3 deaths per 100,000).

In 2023, females aged between 50-54 years:

• Had the highest age-specific suicide rate (10.0 per 100,000 people).
• Had the largest increase in their age-specific suicide rate from 2022 (up 1.4 deaths per 100,000).
• Accounted for the highest proportion of deaths due to suicide (10.7%).

Females aged over 85 years:

• Had the largest decrease in their age-specific suicide rate from 2022 (down 2.9 deaths per 100,000).
• This marks a return to historical trends, with 2022 seeing the highest suicide rate in this age group since the beginning of the time series in 1968.

Suicide accounted for the highest number of years of potential life lost among leading cause groups of conditions for both males and females. This is due to the high proportion of suicides that occur within younger age groups. Conditions such as coronary heart disease account for more premature deaths than suicide, but fewer years of potential life lost.

In 2023:

• Suicide was the leading cause of death for those aged between 15-44 years. 
• Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 107,537 years of life lost.
• A person who died by suicide lost on average 35.5 years of life. 

For males who died in 2023:

• Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 79,772 years of life lost.
• Those who died by suicide lost on average 35.1 years of life.

For females who died in 2023:

• Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 27,775 years of life lost.
• Those who died by suicide lost on average 36.9 years of life.

Deaths of children by suicide is an extremely sensitive issue. The number of deaths of children attributed to suicide can be influenced by coronial reporting practices. Reporting practices may lead to differences in counts across jurisdictions and this should be considered when interpreting tabulations and analysis of suicides in children presented below. For more information on issues associated with the compilation and interpretation of suicide data, see Deaths due to intentional self-harm (suicide) section of the methodology in this publication. For the purposes of the following analysis, children are defined as those aged between 5 and 17 years of age. The ABS are not aware of any recorded suicides of children under the age of 5 years. The tabulation below shows the number and age-specific death rate for children who died by suicide over the last 5 years.

In 2023: 

• Suicide was the leading cause of child death in Australia.  
• There were 94 children who died by suicide, accounting for 18.5% of child deaths.
• Males had a suicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 children (53 deaths).
• Females had a suicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000 children (41 deaths).
• Over 87% of children who died by suicide were aged 14-17 years (82 deaths).
• Whilst the suicide rate for children has increased since 2022, it remains lower than rates in 2019-2021.

• The sex ratio for children aged 5-17 years was 1.3 males per female death. This compared to a sex ratio of 3.0 for people of all ages who died by suicide.
• The sex ratio for children has remained consistent over the last 10 years.

People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CaLD) may have unique experiences in relation to mental health and suicide, including cultural and family views and how health services are accessed. Death registrations do not directly collect information on whether a person was part of a CaLD community. Data items from the death registration which can provide some indication of cultural and linguistic diversity are country of birth and years of residence in Australia. While these two variables do not provide complete information on suicide for people of CaLD backgrounds, they do provide some additional insights into suicide in Australia.

Suicide by region of birth

For the 5-year period 2019 to 2023:

• Those who were born in Australia had a suicide rate of 14.7 deaths per 100,000 people, which was the highest suicide rate by region of birth and 1.7 times higher than the suicide rate for those born overseas (8.4 per 100,000).

For those born overseas:

• Those with a country of birth in the region of Oceania and Antarctica (excluding Australia) had the highest suicide rate, at 14.3 per 100,000 people.
• Those with a country of birth in the region of Southern and Central Asia had the lowest suicide rate, at 4.4 per 100,000 people. Those born in this region also had the lowest median age at death at 34.9 years.
• The regions of North Africa and the Middle East, South-East Asia, and Southern and Central Asia all had a lower median age at death due to suicide than those born in Australia.

The table below shows the 20 most common countries of birth for those who died by suicide in Australia in 2019-2023. For the 5-year period 2019 to 2023. Excluding Australia, England was the most common country of birth for those who died by suicide (740 deaths). When adjusted for population size and age-structure, those with a country of birth in England did not have the highest suicide rate of those born overseas.

The graph below shows age-standardised suicide rates by country of birth for those who died by suicide in Australia in 2019-2023. For the 5-year period 2019 to 2023, those born in Northern Ireland, Croatia, Kenya and New Zealand had a higher suicide rate than those born in Australia.

The table below shows the number of suicides and age-standardised suicide rates for those living in Major Cities of Australia, Inner Regional Australia, Outer Regional Australia, and Remote and Very Remote Australia from 2019-2023. Classes of remoteness are characterised by a measure of relative geographic access to services (for more information, see Remoteness Areas).

In the five-year period 2019-2023:

• When controlling for population size and age structure, the suicide rate in remote and very remote Australia was between 20.5 and 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people. This is consistently higher than suicide rates in both regional areas and major cities.
• Major cities of Australia had the lowest suicide rate across all years (between 10.0 and 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people).
• The suicide rate for males living in remote and very remote Australia in 2021-2023 was more than double the rate for males living in major cities.
• Though 2023 suicide data is considered preliminary, suicide rates for males and persons living in remote and very remote Australia were higher than 2020 (final) rates.

Circumstances relating to a suicide are complex and multifaceted. Often, it is the combination of multiple factors rather than a single reason that contribute to a person dying by suicide. Risk factors should not be considered in isolation.

The ABS codes causes of death from information contained on the National Coronial Information System (NCIS), including police, pathology, toxicology and coroners reports. These reports provide a breadth of information relating to these deaths, much of which is highly important from a public health perspective. As part of the investigative process for a suicide, risk factors are often mentioned in these reports. For suicide, a risk factor could be one of many factors including mental health conditions, lifestyle factors, or chronic diseases that can interact and increase the 'risk' of suicide. While a risk factor may have been present in the life of a person who died by suicide it may not have been a direct cause. Risk factors provide important insights that can help guide prevention and intervention activities.

The risk factors mentioned in the reports on the NCIS are captured as part of the ABS coding process and assigned codes within the framework of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision. For more information on psychosocial risk factor codes and definitions used by the ABS, see Listing of psychosocial risk factor ICD-10 codes with inclusions and exclusions. The capture of information on associated causes of death is reliant on the documentation available for any given death. This in turn can be affected by the length of the coronial process, the type of information available across different jurisdictions and administrative processes affecting report availability. As such, the information presented in this section reflects information contained within reports available on NCIS at the time of coding and does not necessarily reflect all causes associated with all suicides that have occurred. Risk factors are included and made available as part of the associated causes in the National Mortality dataset.

In 2023: 

• 83.3% of people who died by suicide had at least one risk factor reported at the time of preliminary coding. This proportion is likely to increase as coronial investigations are finalised.
• Psychosocial risk factors were the most commonly reported risk factor, present in 67.4% of deaths of people who died by suicide. 
• People who died by suicide had an average of 4 risk factors mentioned.

The types of risk factors experienced by a person can vary across their life. Risk factors more commonly seen in persons in older age groups, such as pain and limitation of activities due to chronic health conditions, are not as common in younger age groups. Similarly, problems related to employment and unemployment are most common in those included in the working age population (defined as 15-64 years). 

For those who died by suicide in 2023:

• Mood disorders (including depression) were the most common risk factor overall, and in those aged between 25-84 years.
• Suicide ideation was the most common risk factor for those aged under 25 years and was mentioned as a risk factor in over a quarter of suicides across all age groups. Suicide ideation can include thoughts or contemplation of suicide, and both direct and indirect discussions or comments surrounding a person’s intention or wish to end their life.
• Limitation of activities due to illness and disability continues to be the most common risk factor for those aged 85 years and over.
• Those aged 25-64 years were most likely to have problems related to employment, relationships, and legal circumstances mentioned as risk factors.
• The highest median age at death was seen for those with problems related to care provider dependency (79.6 years). High median ages at death were also seen for those who had chronic health conditions (malignant neoplasms, ischaemic heart disease, hypertensive diseases and musculoskeletal disorders) and pain. These risk factors are more likely to impact quality of life for those in older age cohorts.

Acute alcohol use was recorded as a factor in 17.8% of suicides, and directly contributed to death in a further 1.9% (i.e., deaths due to intentional alcohol toxicity or mixed drug and alcohol toxicity (X60-X65)). Acute alcohol use can affect a death due to suicide in a number of ways including causing respiratory depression (especially when used in combination with other drugs) or affecting judgement and decision-making processes.

In 2023:

• Those aged between 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have acute alcohol use and intoxication mentioned as a risk factor (present in 21.0% of suicides in this age group).
• Those aged between 45-64 years were the most likely age group to have chronic alcohol abuse disorders mentioned as a risk factor (present in 18.5% of suicides in this age group).
  Acute psychoactive substance use was recorded as a factor in 16.7% of suicides, and directly contributed to death in a further 12.3% (i.e., deaths due to intentional drug toxicity or mixed drug and alcohol toxicity (X60-X65)). Like alcohol, acute use of psychoactive substances can affect a death due to suicide in several ways, including by impairing cognition, perception or moods, or by causing toxicity.

In 2023:

• Those aged 25-44 years were most likely to have issues with psychoactive substance use mentioned as a risk factor (present in 24.5% of suicides as acute use and intoxication and in 28.2% as chronic use).
• For those aged 25-44 years, acute and chronic psychoactive substance use were both more common risk factors than acute or chronic alcohol use.
• The lowest median age at death due to suicide was in those with acute psychoactive substance use (37.0 years) and chronic psychoactive substance use (38.4 years). This is lower than the overall median age at death due to suicide which is 45.5 years.

For males who died by suicide in 2023: 

• Those aged under 25 years were most likely to have a personal history of self-harm or suicide ideation mentioned as a risk factor.
• Substance abuse was a more common risk factor for males than for females.
• Males aged 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have substance abuse mentioned as a risk factor, including:
  • Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (29.3%)
  • Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (25.4%)
  • Acute alcohol use and intoxication (22.2%)
• Those with acute and chronic alcohol use mentioned as a risk factor had higher median ages than those with acute and chronic psychoactive substance use.
• The most common psychosocial risk factor was problems in spousal relationships circumstances, present in 24.8% of suicides overall and most commonly mentioned as a risk factor for those aged between 25-44 years (31.7%). Problems in spousal relationships can include separation and divorce as well as arguments and domestic violence situations.
• Problems in spousal relationships was the third most common risk factor mentioned for males who died by suicide. This compares to the fifth most common for females.