Chronic kidney disease: Australian facts

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be listed as the underlying cause of death – or, more commonly, as an associated cause – on a death certificate where another condition is listed as the underlying cause.

In 2024, CKD contributed to around 21,300 deaths in Australia, 11% of all deaths (underlying or associated).

Of these, CKD was listed as an underlying cause of death in around 5,100 cases (24% of all CKD deaths). It was recorded as an associated cause in a further 16,200 deaths (around 76% of CKD deaths).

Linked data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry and National Death Index has shown that CKD, particularly kidney failure, is often an under-reported cause of death (AIHW 2016).

Diseases commonly listed as underlying causes of death where chronic kidney disease is an associated cause

In cases where CKD was an associated cause of death, the most common underlying causes were:

• Coronary heart disease (I20–I25) (14%)
• Dementia including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30) (7.6%)
• Diabetes (E10–E14) (7.0%)
• Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease (I50–I51) (4.5%)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (J40–J44) (4.2%).

In cases where CKD was the underlying cause of death, the most common associated causes included:

• Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease (I50–I51) (27%)
• Other ill-defined causes (R00–R94, R96–R99, I46.9, I95.9, I99, J96.0, J96.9, P28.5) (26%)
• Diabetes (E10–E14) (24%)
• Hypertensive disease (I10–I15) (22%)
• Coronary heart disease (I20–I25) (14%).

Note: multiple associated causes can be listed for a death. Causes of death are grouped in this analysis using the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) (Becker et al. 2006) with minor modifications to suit the Australian context. For more information, see Deaths in Australia.

Trends over time

The number of deaths with CKD as an underlying or associated cause doubled between 2000 and 2024 (10,200 and 21,300 deaths). After accounting for changes in the age structure of the population over this time, the rate of CKD deaths remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2024. The CKD death rate for females was consistently lower than for males.

CKD mortality rates increased slightly year-on-year in both 2021 and 2022 (4.4% and 6.3%, respectively), after adjusting for age, before falling back to the prior rate in 2024 (Figure 1). These increases should be interpreted in the context of higher overall mortality in 2022, with two-thirds of excess deaths being associated with COVID-19 (ABS 2023).

For more information on the impact of COVID-19, see COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease: Impacts in Australia, 2020–2022

Variation by age and sex

In 2024, death rates for CKD as an underlying or associated cause:

• were 1.5 times higher in males than in females, after adjusting for age
• were higher in males than females across all age groups
• increased with age, with substantially higher rates among those aged 85 and over. This age group accounted for 51% of all deaths due to CKD in 2024 and had an age specific death rate that was 4.7 times as high as for people aged 75–84 (1,900 and 393 deaths per 100,000 population) (Figure 2).

Variation by priority population groups

In 2024, the age-standardised death rate for CKD (as an underlying or associated cause of death) was higher in Remote and very remote areas and in areas with increased socioeconomic disadvantage.

After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the population groups:

• the death rates in Remote and very remote areas were 2.4 times as high as in Major cities. This difference was greater for females than males (2.7 times as high for females and 2.1 times as high for males).
• death rates were 1.8 times as high in the lowest socioeconomic area than in the highest socioeconomic area (Figure 3).

For information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, see First Nations People.