In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, diseases of the circulatory system were the main cause of death in all EU countries, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union.
Circulatory system diseases were the main cause of death in all EU countries, except in Denmark, Ireland, France and the Netherlands, where cancer was the main cause.
These two groups of diseases, remained the leading causes of death and in total, 1.7 million people died of circulatory diseases and almost 1.2 million died from cancer.
Among the EU members, the highest share of deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system was observed in Bulgaria (61%) and the lowest in France (20%). In Cyprus, this percentage was below the EU average, at around 30%.
The highest share of deaths due to cancer was observed in Ireland (29%) and the lowest share in Bulgaria (15%). In Cyprus, this percentage was around 20%.
Diseases of the circulatory system and cancers together represented 55% of the causes of death in the EU, ranging from 42% in Belgium and 76% in Bulgaria. In Cyprus, the two categories of diseases combined accounted for about 50% of deaths.
In the year the pandemic broke out, COVID-19 was the third main cause of death in the EU, with a total of almost 439,000 deaths. The highest shares of death due to COVID-19 were registered in Belgium (18%) and Spain (15%), while the lowest were in Finland and Estonia (both 1%).
To make a sound comparison between countries, the absolute numbers of deaths across the countries need to be adjusted to the size and structure of the population, Eurostat notes.
With 1,787 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants, Bulgaria had the highest death rate in the EU in 2020. It was followed by Romania (1,622), Hungary (1,513), Lithuania (1,482) and Latvia (1,445).
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest death rate across the EU countries was recorded in France (863 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants) and Ireland (892), ahead of Luxembourg (905), Finland (917) and Spain (919).
Cyprus was a little below the average of the EU, with 980 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants.
Source Cyprus News Agency