The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has released statistics on deaths and causes of death for the year 2023. The number of deaths in 2022 was 505,269, increasing by 4.1% to 525,814 in 2023. In 2023, 53.9% of the deceased were males, while 46.1% were females.
The crude death rate, which represents the number of deaths per thousand people, was 5.9 in 2022 and increased to 6.2 in 2023. This means that in 2022, there were 5.9 deaths per thousand people, compared to 6.2 deaths per thousand people in 2023.
Adıyaman had the highest crude death rate among provinces
Adıyaman had the highest crude death rate in 2023 with 18.0 deaths per thousand people. This was followed by Hatay with 17.1, Kahramanmaraş with 14.8, and Kastamonu with 10.6. The province with the lowest crude death rate was Şırnak with 2.3, followed by Hakkari with 2.5, Batman with 3.0, and Van with 3.0.
Circulatory system diseases were the leading cause of death
When examined by causes of death, circulatory system diseases accounted for 33.4% of deaths in 2023. This was followed by benign and malignant tumors at 15.0% and respiratory system diseases at 13.2%. External causes of death and poisonings, including deaths from earthquakes, accounted for 12.3% of deaths. The number of Turkish citizens who died in the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş on February 6th was 45,784.
When circulatory system diseases were further analyzed, it was found that 42.4% of deaths were due to ischemic heart diseases, 24.1% were due to other heart diseases, and 18.6% were due to cerebrovascular diseases. Çanakkale had the highest rate of deaths due to circulatory system diseases in 2023 at 50.2%, followed by Kırşehir with 45.6, Balıkesir with 44.7, and Kırıkkale with 43.0. Adıyaman had the lowest rate of deaths from circulatory system diseases at 10.9, followed by Hatay with 12.6, Kahramanmaraş with 13.5, and Kilis with 27.8.
Deaths from tumors
Deaths from benign and malignant tumors were further analyzed, with 29.2% of deaths attributed to larynx and bronchus/lung malignant tumors, 7.7% to colon malignant tumors, and 7.7% to lymphoid and hematopoietic malignant tumors. Tunceli had the highest rate of deaths from tumors in 2023 at 22%, followed by Ardahan with 21.0, Erzurum with 20.9, and Van with 20.6. Adıyaman had the lowest rate of deaths from tumors at 3.4, followed by Hatay with 3.5, Kahramanmaraş with 4.1, and Gaziantep with 8.8.
Infant mortality rate was 10.0 per thousand
The number of infant deaths in 2022 was 9,555, increasing slightly to 9,575 in 2023. The infant mortality rate, which represents the number of infant deaths per thousand live births, was 9.2 in 2022 and increased to 10.0 in 2023. The under-five mortality rate, which represents the probability of dying within five years of birth, was 11.2 in 2022 and increased to 14.5 per thousand in 2023.
