Fewer deaths in 2023

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© Hollandse Hoogte / Patricia Rehe
The mortality figure for 2023 was 169 thousand, representing a fall of around 750 compared to 2022. There were fewer deaths among women and those aged under 65, in particular. Life expectancy increased in 2023. Statistics Netherlands reports this on the basis of provisional annual figures.
There was an influenza epidemic in Q1 2023 that lasted fourteen weeks, during which more people died than in Q1 2022. However, in the remaining quarters of 2023, fewer people died than in the corresponding quarters in 2022. The relatively high mortality rate in Q4, a pattern which has been evident every year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, persisted in 2023.

COVID-19 is steadily decreasing as a cause of death. In the first three quarters of 2023, this was the cause of death for less than 2 percent of deaths. In 2022, it was the cause of death for 5 percent of deaths, in 2021 for 13 percent and in 2020 for 14 percent.


More deaths among women than among men

A total of 85.6 thousand women and 83.8 thousand men died in 2023. Mortality has been higher among women than men since 1997. This is because women make up a larger proportion of the population than men. Only at the start of the pandemic, particularly in 2021, did more men die than women.


Mortality highest in those aged 80 and over

In 2023, 56 percent of deaths occurred among those aged 80 and over. The ageing population means that there are more older people, and therefore more deaths among this group. In the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, mortality among those aged 80 and over increased significantly, but since then it has remained fairly stable. In 2021, mortality rose in other age groups in particular, and has fallen back somewhat since then. There were fewer deaths among those aged under 65 in 2023 relative to 2022.


Mortality higher among users of long-term care

Among those receiving long-term care, such residents of nursing care homes or care centres for disabled persons, mortality was nearly 66 thousand in 2023. That was 700 more than in 2022. However, this rise (1 percent) was smaller than the increase in the number of people receiving long-term care (4 percent). This means that mortality among this group fell in relative terms: from 185 per thousand in 2022 to 180 per thousand in 2023.

Little change in the breakdown by province

Due differences in demographic makeup, the number of deaths varies between provinces. In 2023, the number of deaths in each province hardly changed in relation to 2022. In the provinces in the north of the country along with Gelderland, Overijssel and Zuid-Holland, there were slightly fewer deaths than in 2022, while in the other provinces there were slightly more.


Longer life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth rose in 2023, to 80.3 years for men and 83.3 years for women. That is three months longer than life expectancy in 2022, for both men and women. On average, life expectancy increases slightly every year, but it saw a slight drop at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Life expectancy has been rising again since 2022, and is now around the same as it was in 2018.


CBS has changed back to its regular statistics on mortality

In 2023, excess mortality stood at 12.7 thousand (8 percent). In 2022, the figure was 14.7 thousand (9 percent). These figures are based on the COVID-19 mortality monitor, which provides estimates of expected mortality. CBS launched this monitor at the start of the pandemic, but stopped calculating possible excess mortality on a weekly basis at the end of 2023. CBS continues to monitor both the number of deaths and changes in causes of death in its regular statistics on Mortality and Cause of Death. Excess mortality continues to be monitored using the Mortality Monitor of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Sources

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