Age at death
Most deaths occur at older ages
In 2024 there were 187,268 deaths registered in Australia (98,467 males; 88,801 females).
The median age at death was 82 years (Table S2.1). Like other developed countries, most deaths in Australia occur at older ages, with just over two‑thirds (68%) occurring among people aged 75 and over.
In 2024,
- the highest number of deaths occurred in the 85-94 age range (Figure 2.1)
- male deaths were higher than female deaths in most age groups
- female deaths exceeded male deaths in the oldest age groups (85+), reflecting that more women survive to these age groups.
Figure 2.1: Deaths in Australia by sex and age group, 2024
The butterfly bar plot shows the number of deaths increased with increasing age. There were more deaths in males before the age of 85.
Low childhood mortality
In 2024, there were 74 deaths per 100,000 children aged 0–4 years (Table S2.2). The death rate in 2024 was higher for boys than girls (82 and 66 deaths per 100,000 population respectively).
Deaths in early childhood have reduced substantially over the past 100 years. In 1907, 1 in 4 deaths were of children aged 0–4 years. In 2024, this has reduced to 1 in 166 deaths. For more information on trends of childhood mortality, see Trends in deaths.
Information on perinatal (stillbirth and neonatal) mortality, is available in Mothers & babies.
Potential years of life lost
Premature mortality has declined, but remains higher for males
Premature mortality shows how many years of life are lost when people die earlier than expected. This can be summarised as potential years of life lost (PYLL). PYLL is calculated by subtracting the age at death from a minimum expected age. For example, using a minimum life expectancy of 75 years, a person dying at age 40 would have lost 35 potential years of life.
In 2024, using the age of 75 as the cut-off,
- there were 930,609 years of life lost overall, or 37.2 years of life lost per 1,000 people.
- males lost 70% more years of life due to premature death than females (46.8 PYLL per 1,000 males compared with 27.5 per 1,000 females).
- the PYLL rate was 8.1% lower compared to 2015. The rate fell more for females (8.8%) than for males (7.6%) (Table S2.3).
Premature mortality is influenced by conditions and events which cause people to die earlier than expected, such as cancer, external causes of death and other potentially avoidable causes. Data for these conditions is presented in the sections:
Potential years of life lost can be used as an indicator of the social and economic impact of premature deaths. In the Australian Burden of Disease study, years of life lost (YLL) is used alongside years lived with a disability (YLD) to compare the impact of diseases and injuries on the population by sex and age. YLL uses remaining life expectancy at the age of death rather than the age of 75 years to quantify the impact of premature deaths.
For more information, see Burden of disease.