In 2017, diseases of the circulatory system were the main cause of deaths in all EU Member States, except in Denmark, Ireland, France and the Netherlands where it was cancer.
Amongst EU Member States the highest share of deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system was observed in Bulgaria (66%) and the lowest in Denmark (23%), while the highest share of deaths due to cancer was observed in Slovenia (32%) and the lowest share in Bulgaria (16%).
Diseases of the circulatory system and cancers together represented more than half of the causes of deaths, ranging from 52% in France to 82% in Bulgaria.
The third main cause of death in most of the EU Member States were diseases of the respiratory system.
With 1,631 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Bulgaria had the highest death rate in the EU in 2017.
It was closely followed by Romania (1,488), Latvia (1,485), Hungary (1,470), Lithuania (1,418) and Cyprus with 1,071 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest death rate across the EU Member States was recorded in France with 838 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants and Spain (844), ahead of Italy (875), Luxembourg (911), Sweden (916) and Malta (927).
Source: Eurostat
