Diseases of the circulatory system and tumours (neoplasms) caused more than half of deaths in 2015, a report has shown. 3,442 people died in Malta during that year.

Diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 1,334 (38.8%) of deaths, whilst tumors (neoplasms) accounted for 936 (27.2%) of deaths that year , according to the ‘Trends in Malta 2016’ report, which was published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) last week.

‘Respiratory system’ diseases and ‘Endocrine, Nutritional, Metabolic and blood forming organs’ diseases were the third and fourth most-common cause of death, causing 348 and 191 deaths respectively.

Mental and behavioural disorders was interestingly noted as the fifth most common cause of death in 2015, and the first most common cause of death not related to physical well-being, where 139 individuals passed away under these circumstances. It was also reported that 114 individuals passed away due to ‘external causes of morbidity and mortality’.

2,875 of the individuals who passed away were 65 years or older, marking the highest number of deaths in that cohort yet.

The report interestingly noted that the ‘winter months of December, January and February’ were the months that claimed the most lives in 2015. Furthermore, in that year, the life longevity of females was almost six years more than of males, with the life expectancy of males standing at 79.7 years, and 84 years for females.

With a total of 4,325 births and 3,442 death in 2015, the natural increase of the population rose by 883 individuals. However, besides the natural increase, net migration resulted in the increase of another 4,176 people, causing the population to stand at 434,403 people by the start of 2016.