ACRONYMS National Statistics Institute
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23 June 2025 Updated at 11:49

Death statistic according to cause of death

Year 2024. Provisional data

Main results

  • More than half of the deaths in Spain in 2024 were due to tumours or diseases affecting the circulatory system.
  • The number of deaths from tumours remained stable, while those from diseases affecting the circulatory system fell by 2.4%.
  • Within the most frequent tumours, the ones that increased most were bronchial and lung cancers (1.9%). The one that decreased most was cancer of the colon (-4.6%).
  • Accidental falls were the leading external cause of death, for the second year in a row.

In the year 2024, 433,547 deaths occurred in Spain. By sex, 218,746 males and 214,801 females died.  The gross mortality rate stood at 888.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The male rate was 914.2 deaths per 100,000 males and 863.4 deaths per 100,000 females.

Of those deaths, 95.8% were due to natural causes and 4.2% to external causes.

Principal causes of natural death by gender

In 2024, tumours were the number one cause of death, accounting for 26.6% of all deaths, followed by diseases affecting the circulatory system (26.1%).

Compared to the previous year, deaths from tumours remained stable, while those from circulatory diseases fell by 2.4%. This decline meant that the death rate from tumours (236.4 per 100,000 inhabitants) was higher than that from diseases affecting the circulatory system (231.8).

Deaths from tumours and from diseases affecting the circulatory system. Year 2015-2024

Rates per 100,000 inhabitants

A more detailed breakdown of tumours shows that bronchial and lung cancer was the most common cause (with 23,239 deaths, 1.9% more than in 2023), followed by colon cancer (10,434 deaths, 4.6% less).

Among deaths due to diseases affecting the circulatory system, ischaemic heart disease was the most frequent cause of death in 2024, with 26,851 people deceased, 3.2% less than in 2023. This was followed by cerebrovascular diseases, with 22,786 deaths (down 2.7%).

Among the most frequent diseases, the largest increases in deaths were in renal failure (10.3% more) and pneumonia (7.7%). In contrast, colon cancer and diabetes mellitus decreased the most.

For the first time since its emergence in 2020, the COVID-19 identified virus did not appear in 2024 among the 15 leading causes of death in Spain. It was the most frequent cause during the 2020-2022 three-year period.

Deaths according to the most frequent causes of death. 2020-2024 series

Absolute values and percentage change

* 2024 data published today are provisional

By gender, ischaemic heart disease was the number one cause of death among men (16,892 deaths), which was followed by bronchial and lung cancer (16,560) and cerebrovascular diseases (10,131).

For women, the most frequent causes were dementia (14,769 deaths), cerebrovascular diseases (12,655) and heart failure (11,060).

Principal external causes of death by gender

In 2024, there were 18,304 deaths due to external causes, 271 more than in the previous year (1.5%). By gender, 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 deaths, for the second consecutive year, with 4,407 deaths (up 6.0%). The second was suicides, with 3,846, 6.6% less than in 2023.

By gender, the most frequent causes of external death among men were suicides (2,834 deaths) and unintentional falls (2,369). For women, the most frequent causes were unintentional falls (2,038 deaths) and drowning, submersion and suffocation (1,736).

Main causes of external death. 2020-2024 series

Absolute data and percentage change

* The 2024 data published today are provisional. In the case of deaths due to external causes, the time required to obtain autopsy results is longer than for natural deaths, so deaths from temporary external causes may be underestimated.

Results by Autonomous Communities and Cities

Looking at the main causes of death, the largest increases in deaths from tumours were recorded in the autonomous city of Ceuta (10.2%), Comunidad Foral de Navarra (7.4%) and Principado de Asturias (6.6%). The largest declines were in La Rioja (-2.4%), Galicia (-2.3%) and Aragón (-1.8%).

The highest increases in deaths from circulatory diseases were in Illes Balears (9.2%), Galicia (1.9%) and País Vasco (0.8%). In contrast, the largest decreases occurred in the autonomous cities of Melilla (-14.9%) and Ceuta (-9.4%), and in Canarias (-8.5%).

La Rioja had the largest increase in deaths from respiratory diseases (44.2%), followed by Castilla y León (14.1%) and the País Vasco (13.5%). Deaths from these diseases only decreased in the autonomous city of Melilla (-7.8%).

Deaths according to the main causes of death, by autonomous communities and cities. Year 2024

Percentage change

Data revisions and updates

The data for 2024 are provisional and will be disseminated as final in December 2025. All the results of this operation are available on INEBase.

Methodological note

The Death Statistics according to Cause of Death provides annual information on deaths occurring within the national territory according to the underlying cause, based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) of the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 1999, the 10th revision of this classification is used.

This is a harmonised European statistic which is supported by Commission Regulation (EU) No. 328/2011 of 5 April 2011 on statistics on causes of death.

The methodology followed by the INE in the Statistics of deaths by cause of death is based on the detailed analysis of the medical death certificates (CMD). The source of information for deaths with legal intervention is the Statistical Legal Death Bulletin completed by the courts or the information directly provided by the Institutes of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (IMLCF). In both cases, the information is provided through a web application designed by the INE.

Type of operation:
annual continuous statistics.
Population scope:
deaths occurring in the national territory.
Geographical scope:
the entire national territory.
Reference period for the results:
the calendar year.
Reference period for the information:
date on which death occurs.
Collection method:
statistical form based on an administrative act.

More information on the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.

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