Report on Leading Causes of Death in Australia

"Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Australia, accounting for almost 20,000 deaths in 2013," said James Eynstone-Hinkins from the ABS.
"However, deaths from Dementia and Alzheimer's disease have been increasing in number for many years, and now outrank Cerebrovascular diseases as the second leading cause of death of Australians. "There were 11,000 deaths from Dementia and Alzheimer's in 2013, an increase of over five per cent in the past year and over 30 percent in the past five years.
"Advancements in treatment of circulatory diseases have decreased the number of deaths from these conditions. "As life expectancy increases (now at 80.1 years for males and 84.3 years for females) it is likely the number of deaths from dementia will continue to grow.
"These large scale shifts in patterns of mortality provide critical insights into the multitude of factors which impact on the health of Australians.
"Cancer deaths have also outnumbered deaths from circulatory diseases for the first time in 2013.
"There were over 8,000 Australians who died from lung cancer in 2013, a 13 per cent increase since 2004. Colon cancer, blood cancers, prostate, breast, pancreatic and skin cancers were all among Australia's 20 leading causes of death."
The report found there were more male deaths than female deaths in 2013 (75,782 and 71,896 respectively) and some key differences in leading causes.
Suicide was once again the leading cause of death for Australian's aged 15 to 44. Suicide accounted for 2,520 deaths in 2013 at a standardised death rate of 10.7 per 100,000 people. The median age at death for suicides is lower than for many other causes at 44.5 years of age. As a result, suicide accounted for over 85,000 years of life lost making it the leading cause of premature death in Australia.
Comprehensive data and analysis can be found in Causes of Death, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0).