Deaths by medical end-of-life decision; age, cause of death

Deaths by medical end-of-life decision; age, cause of death

Age Cause of death Periods Without end-of-life decision Sudden and unexpected death (number) Without end-of-life decision Not sudden and unexpected death (number)
Total Total causes of death 2021 22,195 57,073
Total Congenital anomalies (age zero) 2021 19 44
Total Other/unknown causes of death (age zero) 2021 92 98
Total Malignant neoplasms (>0 years) 2021 1,127 15,252
Total Diseases circulatory syst.excl.CVA (>0.. 2021 7,827 9,337
Total Diseases respiratory system (>0 years) 2021 615 4,091
Total Diseases nervous syst.incl.CVA (>0 yrs) 2021 1,297 6,119
Total Suicide (>0 years) 2021 1,094 720
Total Other/unknown causes of death (>0 years) 2021 10,125 21,410
0 year Total causes of death 2021 111 143
0 year Congenital anomalies (age zero) 2021 19 44
0 year Other/unknown causes of death (age zero) 2021 92 98
0 year Malignant neoplasms (>0 years) 2021
0 year Diseases circulatory syst.excl.CVA (>0.. 2021
0 year Diseases respiratory system (>0 years) 2021
0 year Diseases nervous syst.incl.CVA (>0 yrs) 2021
0 year Suicide (>0 years) 2021
0 year Other/unknown causes of death (>0 years) 2021
1 to 16 years Total causes of death 2021 130 53
1 to 16 years Congenital anomalies (age zero) 2021
1 to 16 years Other/unknown causes of death (age zero) 2021
1 to 16 years Malignant neoplasms (>0 years) 2021 3 14
1 to 16 years Diseases circulatory syst.excl.CVA (>0.. 2021 0 0
1 to 16 years Diseases respiratory system (>0 years) 2021 17 0
1 to 16 years Diseases nervous syst.incl.CVA (>0 yrs) 2021 3 12
1 to 16 years Suicide (>0 years) 2021 20 0
1 to 16 years Other/unknown causes of death (>0 years) 2021 87 28
17 to 64 years Total causes of death 2021 5,068 6,122
17 to 64 years Congenital anomalies (age zero) 2021
17 to 64 years Other/unknown causes of death (age zero) 2021
17 to 64 years Malignant neoplasms (>0 years) 2021 330 2,722
17 to 64 years Diseases circulatory syst.excl.CVA (>0.. 2021 1,572 903
17 to 64 years Diseases respiratory system (>0 years) 2021 91 227
17 to 64 years Diseases nervous syst.incl.CVA (>0 yrs) 2021 206 208
17 to 64 years Suicide (>0 years) 2021 705 530
17 to 64 years Other/unknown causes of death (>0 years) 2021 2,163 1,532
65 to 79 years Total causes of death 2021 7,856 17,898
65 to 79 years Congenital anomalies (age zero) 2021
65 to 79 years Other/unknown causes of death (age zero) 2021
65 to 79 years Malignant neoplasms (>0 years) 2021 475 7,170
65 to 79 years Diseases circulatory syst.excl.CVA (>0.. 2021 2,741 3,344
65 to 79 years Diseases respiratory system (>0 years) 2021 249 1,572
65 to 79 years Diseases nervous syst.incl.CVA (>0 yrs) 2021 413 1,114
65 to 79 years Suicide (>0 years) 2021 281 132
65 to 79 years Other/unknown causes of death (>0 years) 2021 3,697 4,566
80 years or older Total causes of death 2021 9,030 32,856
80 years or older Congenital anomalies (age zero) 2021
80 years or older Other/unknown causes of death (age zero) 2021
80 years or older Malignant neoplasms (>0 years) 2021 319 5,346
80 years or older Diseases circulatory syst.excl.CVA (>0.. 2021 3,513 5,091
80 years or older Diseases respiratory system (>0 years) 2021 257 2,292
80 years or older Diseases nervous syst.incl.CVA (>0 yrs) 2021 676 4,784
80 years or older Suicide (>0 years) 2021 88 59
80 years or older Other/unknown causes of death (>0 years) 2021 4,178 15,284
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


The survey of medical end-of-life decisions presents information on medical end-of-life decisions by attending physicians. For this survey, a random sample is taken from death certificates at Statistics Netherlands on persons listed in the Dutch population register who died in the months August to November inclusive of the survey year. The sample is raised to an annual figure.

This table concerns deaths by medical end-of-life decisions, cause of death and age.

Data available from: 2010, 2015 and 2021

Status of the figures:
All data are definite.

Changes as of 26 May 2023:
- Figures for 2021 have been added.
- In 2021, there were 96 deceased persons with unknown 'medical end-of-life'. These were only added to the total. The underlying numbers therefore do not add up to the total.

When will new figures be published?
The survey takes place every five years. In 2020, the survey was postponed by one year due to the high workload in the healthcare sector on account of COVID-19. As a result, there is a one-off six-year interval between 2015 and 2021.

Description topics

Without end-of-life decision
Sudden and unexpected death
A person’s sudden and unexpected death which is assumed not to have involved any medical end-of-life decision.
Not sudden and unexpected death