In 2024
Death rate from "malignant tumours" was highest in Santana, Machico and Funchal, and lowest in Câmara de Lobos, Porto Moniz and Calheta
DREM releases data on causes of death in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM) for 2024, broken down by municipality, age group and sex. The time series of Health Statistics has also been updated, now including the number of deaths by cause of death according to the "European Shortlist", as well as the death rates from "Diseases of the circulatory system" and "Malignant tumours", by municipality, for 2024.
With the availability of mortality data for malignant tumours, the update of the Health Panel of the Autonomous Region of Madeira has now been completed, allowing these indicators to be compared with data for the Autonomous Region of the Azores and the Mainland for the period 2015-2024.
In 2024, there were 2 574 deaths of the Autonomous Region of Madeira residents, representing a decrease of 7.8% compared with 2023 (2 791 deaths). Of these deaths, 1 206 were male (46.9%) and 1 368 were female (53.1%), giving a sex ratio at death of 88.2 male deaths per 100 female deaths, lower than the figure recorded at the national level (99.8). In the year under review, the death rate per 1 000 inhabitants in the ARM was 10.0‰ (11.1‰ nationally).
By age group, there were 6 deaths of children under 1 year of age, corresponding to an infant mortality rate of 3.3‰ (0.6‰ in 2023), with "Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period" predominating as the cause of death, responsible for 4 deaths, followed by "Malignant tumours (neoplasms)" and "Pneumonia", with 1 death each. In the age group of children between 1 and 14 years, there were 3 deaths, 2 due to "Malignant tumours (neoplasms)" and one due to "Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases". In the age group of young persons aged 15 to 24, there were 9 deaths, with 6 due to "External causes of injury and poisoning" (in particular, 3 due to "Transport accidents"). Among adults aged 25 to 64, there were 447 deaths, mainly from "Malignant tumours (neoplasms)" (186 deaths), "Diseases of the circulatory system" (89 deaths) and "External causes of injury and poisoning" (51 deaths). In the 65 to 84 age group, there were 1 168 deaths, with particular relevance to "Malignant tumours (neoplasms)" (376 deaths), "Diseases of the circulatory system" (267 deaths, of which 64 were due to "Ischaemic heart diseases") and "Diseases of the respiratory system" (150 deaths, including 76 due to "Pneumonia"). Lastly, among the 941 deaths of persons aged 85 and over, 285 were attributed to "Diseases of the circulatory system" as cause of death and 207 to "Diseases of the respiratory system", of which 111 were attributed to "Pneumonia".
At the municipality level, Funchal recorded 1 169 deaths (45.4%), followed by Santa Cruz with 328 deaths (12.7%) and Câmara de Lobos with 261 deaths (10.1%). These municipalities accounted for 68.3% of deaths in the ARM. On the other hand, the municipalities of Porto Moniz (38 deaths; 1.5%), Porto Santo (43 deaths; 1.7%), São Vicente (61 deaths; 2.4%), Santana (85 deaths; 3.3%) and Ponta do Sol (87 deaths; 3.4%) recorded fewer than 100 deaths in 2024, totalling 12.2% of deaths.
Deaths from "Malignant tumours (neoplasms)" stood out as the leading cause in the Region, accounting for 26.3% of total deaths, as well as in most municipalities. The exceptions were the municipalities of Calheta, Funchal, Ponta do Sol, Porto Moniz and São Vicente, where the main cause of death corresponded to "Diseases of the circulatory system". In the ARM, the death rate from malignant tumours was 2.6‰, the same value recorded at the national level. By municipality, this rate was highest in Santana (3.8‰), followed by Machico (3.2‰) and Funchal (2.8‰). The municipalities of Câmara de Lobos (1.8‰), Porto Moniz (2.0‰) and Calheta (2.3‰) recorded the lowest death rates from this cause of death.
Mortality from "Diseases of the circulatory system" was the second most common cause of death in the ARM in 2024, with 642 deaths recorded, corresponding to 24.9% of total deaths. The death rate associated with this cause was 2.5‰, lower than the figure observed at the national level, which stood at 2.8‰. The municipalities of Funchal (317 deaths), Santa Cruz (68), Câmara de Lobos (54) and Machico (51) recorded the highest number of deaths from this cause, while Porto Santo recorded the lowest number, with 12 deaths. In terms of death rate, the municipalities of Porto Moniz (6.2‰), São Vicente (3.6‰), Calheta, Funchal and Santana (all with 2.9‰), Ponta do Sol (2.7‰) and Machico (2.6‰) recorded the highest rates, above the figure recorded for the Region (2.5‰). In turn, the lowest rates were observed in the municipalities of Santa Cruz (1.5‰) and Câmara de Lobos (1.6‰).
It should be noted that, in terms of rate, mortality from malignant tumours was higher than mortality from diseases of the circulatory system in the municipalities of Santana (3.8‰ versus 2.9‰), Machico (3.2‰ versus 2.6‰), Ribeira Brava (2.7‰ versus 2.3‰), Porto Santo (2.5‰ versus 2.1‰), Santa Cruz (2.4‰ versus 1.5‰), and Câmara de Lobos (1.8‰ versus 1.6‰).
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