Deaths due to dementia

Dementia is a progressive condition that leads to reduced life expectancy, and was the leading cause of death for Australians in 2023. However, time from diagnosis to death is highly variable. Survival time is affected by age, sex, dementia type and severity at diagnosis, among other factors (Brodaty et al. 2012). In addition, dementia is not always the underlying cause of death as the condition often impairs people’s physical health and ability to cope with other diseases (Dementia Australia 2024).

For this report, the AIHW uses an expanded list of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes to define dementia related deaths. This expanded list was developed under the guidance of AIHW’s Dementia Expert Advisory Group. Therefore, the AIHW dementia death estimates reported here differ to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates. 

Both AIHW and ABS include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and unspecified dementia when reporting dementia related deaths; the AIHW list also includes other dementias (for example, Lewy body dementia). The AIHW and the ABS are aware of current differences in reporting and are working together to align reporting where practicable. 

Refer to the Technical notes for further information on death data and the codes used to classify dementia in the National Mortality Database. 

 

Dementia is the leading cause of death in Australia

In 2023, dementia was the leading cause of death in Australia. There were a total of 17,400 deaths due to dementia, with more women than men dying due to the condition (around 10,900 and just over 6,500 deaths, respectively; Table S3.1). This corresponds to dementia causing 9.5% of all deaths in Australia in 2023 (or 12.5% of all deaths among women and 6.8% of all deaths among men) (ABS 2024).

Figure 3.1 shows the leading 5 causes of death for Australians in 2023, where dementia is the leading cause of death for women and second leading cause of death for men.

Note the AIHW dementia death estimates reported here differ to the ABS estimates. Both AIHW and ABS include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and unspecified dementia when reporting dementia related deaths; the AIHW list also includes other dementias (for example, Lewy body dementia). Less than 5% of deaths due to dementia in 2023 were caused by other dementias, but due to the small difference between dementia and coronary heart disease in 2023 this was enough to change the relative order of the leading cause of death for persons.

Figure 3.1: Leading causes of death in Australia in 2023, by sex: number and crude rate

The bar chart shows the 5 leading causes of death for men and women, with dementia as the leading cause of death for women and second leading cause of death for men.

The bar chart shows the 5 leading causes of death for men and women, with dementia as the leading cause of death for women and second leading cause of death for men.

Note: This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.

Figure 3.2 presents more details on deaths due to dementia by age and sex in 2023. The rate of deaths due to dementia increases with age for both men and women. For example, the rate of deaths due to dementia increases from about 180 and 190 deaths per 100,000 men and women aged 75–79 to almost 4,100 and 5,700 deaths per 100,000 population for men and women aged 95 and over. While the rate of deaths due to dementia is highest in those aged 95 and older, most deaths due to dementia occurred among men and women aged 85–94 years (Table S3.2).

Figure 3.2: Deaths due to dementia in 2023: number and age-specific rate, by age and sex

The column chart shows that the number and age-specific rate of deaths due to dementia for men, women and all persons increase with age.

The column chart shows that the number and age-specific rate of deaths due to dementia for men, women and all persons increase with age.

Notes:

  1. Age-specific rates are expressed per 100,000 population. 
  2. This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.

Box 3.1: Provisional dementia deaths in more recent years 

The current Dementia in Australia report includes mortality data up to and including 2023. This data includes the latest available coroner and doctor certified deaths data which are compiled and provided to the AIHW by the ABS. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABS started reporting provisional mortality statistics. Provisional mortality data includes deaths certified by doctors only and does not include deaths referred to the coroner (around 15% of total deaths). Therefore, data released provisionally is subject to change and should be interpreted with caution. However, it does provide an early indication of emerging mortality patterns in Australia. 

Provisional mortality estimates indicate that in 2024 between January and December, there were 17,847 deaths due to dementia. This is higher than the number of deaths in the same period in both 2023 and 2022 (16,935 and 17,637 respectively) (ABS 2025). 

Dementia deaths between 2009 and 2023

Between 2009 and 2023, the number of deaths due to dementia has more than doubled, from 8,500 deaths to 17,400 deaths. The rate of deaths due to dementia also increased from 39 to 65 deaths per 100,000 population (Figure 3.3; Table S3.3). This increase in number and rate was seen for both men and women, with more women dying than men due to dementia each year. 

As age is the biggest risk factor for dementia, the increase in the number and rate of Australians dying from dementia over 2009 to 2023 is in part a reflection of more Australians living to older ages. 

After accounting for age structure changes in the Australian population over time, the age-standardised rate of deaths due to dementia between 2009 and 2023 still increased from 33 to 43 deaths per 100,000 population. This increase was seen in both men (31 to 40 deaths per 100,000 population) and women (34 to 45 deaths per 100,000 population), with the number and rate of deaths among women consistently being higher than those for men.

Other factors that may have contributed to the increase in the number and rate of deaths due to dementia over the 20 years include: 

  • changes in ICD-10 instructions for coding deaths data, resulting in the assignment of some deaths to Vascular dementia (F01) where previously they may have been coded to Cerebrovascular diseases (I60–I69)
  • legal changes, allowing veterans and members of the defence forces to relate death from Vascular dementia to relevant service and an accompanying promotional campaign targeted at health professionals. These changes are thought to have increased the number of dementia deaths among this group (ABS 2015).

Figure 3.3: Deaths due to dementia in Australia between 2009 to 2023: number, crude rate and age-standardised rate by sex

The line graph shows the number, crude rate and age-standardised rate of deaths due to dementia has been increasing from 2009 to 2023, with the lines for women being consistently higher than those for men.

The line graph shows the number, crude rate and age-standardised rate of deaths due to dementia has been increasing from 2009 to 2023, with the lines for women being consistently higher than those for men.

Notes:

  1. Age-standardised rate of deaths due to dementia between 2009–2023 have been directly age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard Population by 5-year age group up to age 95+ and are expressed per 100,000 population. 
  2. This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.
  3. Deaths are counted according to year of death registration. Deaths registered in 2020 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2021 are based on the revised version; and deaths registered in 2022 and 2023 are based on the preliminary version. Revised and preliminary versions are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Deaths by dementia type 

In 2023, most dementia deaths (53%, 9,200) were due to Unspecified dementia, meaning the type of dementia was not known. The most common specific dementia types recorded were Alzheimer’s disease (almost 5,600 deaths) and vascular dementia (1,900 deaths). Less than 5% of dementia deaths in 2023 were due to other dementias (730, 4.2%). The same pattern was seen in people aged 65 and over (Table S3.4). 

For most dementia types, the rate of deaths per 100,000 population increased with age (Figure 3.4). The high number of deaths classified as Unspecified dementia may be due to challenges in diagnosing and reporting dementia, particularly among older individuals who have other comorbidities. Similar trends have been found in other recent studies (Gao et al. 2018; PHE 2016). 

Figure 3.4: Deaths due to dementia in 2023: number and age-specific rates, by age group, sex and dementia type

These bar charts show that for most dementia types, the age-specific rate of death per 100,000 population increased with increasing age. A radio button is available to look at the breakdown by sex.

These bar charts show that for most dementia types, the age-specific rate of death per 100,000 population increased with increasing age. A radio button is available to look at the breakdown by sex.

Notes:

  1. Due to confidentiality issues, rates are not shown for people aged 30–64 years.
  2. Age-specific rates are expressed per 100,000 population.
  3. The category 'Other dementias' includes: Frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia and Dementia due to the effect of substances.
  4. This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.
  5. Small cell counts have been suppressed for confidentiality.

Since 2009, the age-standardised rate of vascular dementia has remained relatively low and only fluctuated slightly between 3 to 5 deaths per 100,000 population. The age-standardised rate of Alzheimer’s disease and unspecified dementia had mostly increased over the same period, from 19 to 22 deaths per 100,000 for Unspecified dementia and 10 to 14 deaths per 100,000 for Alzheimer’s disease. There was a brief decrease in the age-standardised rate of unspecified dementia in 2019 to 2020, from 24 to 22 deaths per 100,000 population (Figure 3.5; Table S3.5). The reasons for this trend are not fully understood but are likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic (ABS 2020). 

For data on how many people died in Australia by other, less common dementia types, see Less common dementias.

Figure 3.5: Deaths due to dementia between 2009 to 2023: age-standardised rates, by dementia type

The line graph shows the age-standardised rates for Alzheimer’s disease, unspecified dementia and vascular dementia between 2009 to 2023.

Source: AIHW analysis of the National Mortality Database

Notes:

  1. Age-standardised rates due to dementia between 2009–2023 have been directly age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard Population by 5-year age group up to age 95+ and are expressed per 100,000 population.
  2. This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.
  3. Deaths are counted according to year of death registration. Deaths registered in 2020 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2021 are based on the revised version; and deaths registered in 2022 and 2023 are based on the preliminary version. Revised and preliminary versions are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Geographic and socioeconomic area variations

Figure 3.6 shows crude rates and age-standardised rates of death due to dementia in 2023 by sex, different geographic areas and socioeconomic groups. Dementia death rates (whether crude or age-standardised) by state and territory, remoteness area and socioeconomic area were generally higher in women than men. Although crude rates do not take into consideration the age-structure of the population, they provide a direct interpretation of the extent of dementia deaths (see Table S3.6 for age-standardised rates for comparison). The rate of deaths due to dementia:

  • varied across states and territories – ranging from 24 deaths per 100,000 population in the Northern Territory to 97 deaths per 100,000 population in South Australia
  • varied by remoteness – the rate was lowest in Very remote areas (21 deaths per 100,000 population) and highest in Inner regional areas (78 per 100,000 population)
  • varied by socioeconomic areas – ranging between 60 to 74 deaths per 100,000 population (Figure 3.6; Table S3.6).

Recent evidence points to the high variability of appropriate dementia care across Australia as well as dementia awareness among health care and aged care workers, which could be impacting where people with dementia die, and when and how dementia deaths are coded (Royal Commission 2019). Information on factors such as place of death, if captured comprehensively, may help to shed some further light on end-of-life care in Australia.

Figure 3.6: Deaths due to dementia in 2023: crude and age-standardised rates, by sex, geography and socioeconomic areas

This bar chart shows that dementia death rates (crude and age-standardised) varies by state and territory, remoteness area and socioeconomic area and are higher in women than men.

This bar chart shows that dementia death rates (crude and age-standardised) varies by state and territory, remoteness area and socioeconomic area and are higher in women than men.

Notes:

  1. Age-standardised rates due to dementia between 2009–2023 have been directly age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard Population by 5-year age group (up to age 95+ for Overall and State or territory, up to 85+ for Remoteness area and Socioeconomic area), and are expressed per 100,000 population.
  2. This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.

Box 3.2: Where do deaths due to dementia occur?

Place of death, the location or setting in which an individual dies, is an important indicator for end-of-life care. Place of death is currently recorded on either a Death Registration Form or the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, and it is mostly captured as free text that can vary significantly across jurisdictions (ABS 2021).

In 2021, the ABS released the results of a pilot study in which they developed and applied a methodology to assign a place of death to deaths occurring in 2019, based on data sourced from the Deaths Registration Form and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. Deaths were assigned to one of five categories:

  • Home/residence
  • Residential aged care facility
  • Hospital/medical service area
  • Other
  • Unspecified.

Details of the methodology of assignment can be found on the ABS website.

In 2019, the majority of deaths due to dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) occurred in a residential aged care facility (77%), with 20% occurring in a hospital or medical service area, and 2.5% occurring in a home or residence. Compared with the other selected causes of death examined, dementia had the highest proportion of deaths occurring in aged care facilities and the lowest occurring in hospitals or medical service areas. This is likely reflective of the higher proportion of people with dementia who reside in aged care facilities at end of life due to disease progression and complex care needs.

 

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