The Mortality and Causes of Death Report has shown that HIV has risen to be the third leading cause of death in the country, with tuberculosis remaining the number one killer in 2013, says Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
“An improvement in the reporting of HIV deaths has been seen,” Statistician General Pali Lehohla said on Tuesday at the release of the report.
Lehohla explained that HIV had moved up the ladder to third place from occupying the seventh spot due to there being better reporting of deaths and not because there were more people dying from it.
“When it moved to number three, it is not because HIV and Aids is an increasing cause of death. It’s just that the recording of it has actually improved,” he said.
The data comes as South Africa commemorated World Aids Day on 1 December.
The report found that HIV affected more males in 2013 than females.
The report, which is based on data collected by the Department of Home Affairs through the death registration system, found that the country reported 458 933 deaths in 2013. This was down from the 480 476 deaths recorded in 2012.
“The number of people that are dying in South Africa has declined… over time,” said Lehohla.
In 2013, tuberculosis remained the leading cause of death among South Africans, followed by influenza and pneumonia in the second and third spot respectively.
Of the total 458 933 deaths reported, 23% of them were due to infectious and parasitic diseases and 25% were other diseases, while 17% of deaths were due to circulatory system diseases.
The report found that the percentage of deaths due to injuries for men was above 60% in the 20 – 24 age group, while the percentage of deaths due to injuries among women peaked at 28%.
With deaths caused by accidents in the country, Limpopo province had the highest at 30.6% followed by the Northern Cape at 24.1%. Gauteng province had the lowest number at 3.6%.
Additionally, transport accidents which led to death were reported to occur mostly in June and December.
The Northern Cape recorded the highest number of assault related deaths as a percentage of non-natural deaths at 23.1%.
The report also found that 44.2% of South Africans die in hospitals while 23.2% die at home.
The death registration of adults in South Africa was at 94%. – SAnews.gov.za
