Australian death rate in first year of Covid pandemic was lowest on record

The death rate in 2020 was the lowest ever recorded, according to newly released data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

In 2020, 627.8 people per 100,000 died of any cause, a figure that has trended steadily downwards since the 1940s. There were 161,300 deaths in total.

The top five leading causes of death were coronary heart disease, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

However, while Covid mortalities were low in 2020, deaths increased significantly with the Omicron wave. The death toll in 2022 is already more than double that of the previous two years combined.

The rates of premature and potentially avoidable deaths were highest in very remote Australia and lowest in the major cities.

Socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with a higher rate of deaths from potentially preventable or treatable causes, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

The rate of potentially avoidable deaths in the most disadvantaged 20% of areas in Australia (139.8 per 100,000) was more than double the rate in the most advantaged 20% (64.5 per 100,000).