São Paulo: 72 Percent of Deaths Are People Over 60, as Life Expectancy Increases

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Almost three-quarters of the deaths in the state of São Paulo are of people over 60. According to a survey by the State Data Analysis System Foundation (SEADE), 297,800 citizens died in the state in 2018. Of this total, 72 percent were people over 60 years of age and 20 percent were over 85.

The foundation draws attention to a change in patterns in recent decades, consolidating the trend of population aging.”São Paulo’s population aged 50 and over increased 85 percent in 18 years, while that of less than 50 increased only five percent”, compares the study.

In 2000, 162,100 people over 50 died, while in 2018 there were 250,300 deaths. In 2018, there were 47,500 deaths of people under 50. Eighteen years earlier, the number in this age group was 75.5 thousand.

In 2018, the average age of the population was 35.7 years; in 2000, it was 30.2 years and in 1980, 26.1 years. This change in profile is combined with a drop in mortality and birth rates. The population of São Paulo grew 4.8 times between 1950 and 2018, while the number of deaths increased at a rate of 2.7 times in the period.

Causes of death

In the three-year period from 2016 to 2018, the four main causes of death in the state population were diseases of the circulatory system (29 percent), neoplasms – tumors (18 percent), diseases of the respiratory system (14 percent) and external causes (seven percent).

The main change in relation to the three years ranging from 1999 to 2001 is the reduction of deaths from external causes, mainly traffic accidents and homicides. In that period, external causes were accountable for 14 percent of deaths, circulatory system diseases for 31 percent, neoplasms for 15 percent and respiratory system diseases for 11 percent.

2050

SEADE’s projections show that by 2050 the state of São Paulo will reach 47.2 million residents, up from 44 million in 2018. The average age will rise to 44.1 years and the average number of deaths will reach the level of 512,800 per year.

Source: Agência Brasil