Cancer was most common cause of death in 2016

525,048 deaths were registered in England and Wales in 2016, reports the Office for National Statistics. This is a decrease of 0.9 percent after the large increase seen in 2015.

Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) decreased in 2016 by 3.0 percent for females and 2.4 percent for males; similar to the general trend prior to 2015.

In 2016, there were fewer deaths at ages 75 and over, while the number of deaths at ages 65 to 74 increased compared to 2015.

Vasita Patel, Vital Statistics Outputs Branch, said: “We’ve seen a decline in deaths in 2016 compared with 2015, notably amongst those aged over 75.

“However, the number of deaths among those aged 65 to 74 has actually increased, which might mean we are seeing those born in the peak immediately after World War 2 moving into old age.”

Cancer and infant mortality

Cancer remained the most common broad cause of death in 2016 (28.5 percent of all deaths registered). There was an increase of 1.1 percent of deaths to this cause compared with 2015.

The infant mortality rate remained at 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016, for the third consecutive year, while there were slight fluctuations in the neonatal and postneonatal rates.

For more information go to https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/deathregistrationsinenglandandwalessummarytables2016.