Death Rate – The number of deaths in a year per 1000 of the total population

To remember the meaning of the term Death Rate, use the following mnemonic:

Death by a heavy weight (death rate) of one tonne or 1000kg (per 1000).

NOTE: Dying by a one tonne weight is to remind you that death rate is:

Number of deaths per 1000 people per year

The death rate (or mortality rate as it is also known), along with birth rate and migration rates, are used to calculate population growth.

Death rates can also provide governments with information on the leading causes of death.

According to the World Health Organisation, the ten leading causes of death globally in 2023 for both sexes and all ages, per 100,000 population were:

Ischaemic heart disease

Stroke

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Lower respiratory infections

Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

Diabetes

Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers

Hypertensive heart disease

Kidney diseases

Diarrhoeal diseases

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