Leading causes of death in 2018 remain stable – sharp increase in assisted suicide
Neuchâtel, 14.12.2020 - In 2018, 67 088 persons died in Switzerland, 0.2% more than in the previous year. As in 2017, the most common causes were cardiovascular diseases (30.7%) and cancer (25.9%). According to the latest cause of death statistics published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), all other causes of death each accounted for less than 10% of all deaths, including dementia (9.6%) and respiratory diseases (6.9%). Overall, the frequency of causes of death has hardly changed compared with the previous year. Assisted suicide was an exception: with an increase of 17% in 2018 compared to the previous year it approached the level of 1 in 50 deaths.
This press release and further information on this topic can be found on the FSO website (see link below).
Address for enquiries
Rolf Weitkunat, FSO, Population Health, tel.: +41 58 485 67 24,
e-mail: rolf.weitkunat@bfs.admin.ch
Publisher
Federal Statistical Office
http://www.statistics.admin.ch
