According to data from 2016, cancer and cardiovascular disease are the main causes of death in Luxembourg.

According to this data, which is the most recent set available, 60% of the deaths in Luxembourg are due to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

In 2016 Luxembourg saw a total of 3,978 deaths. On average this amounts to 11 deaths per day, 77 per week and 332 per month. According to the ministry for health, this represents an increase of 1.1% compared to the year before.

93.3% of these deaths were due to illnesses. More than half of them occurred at a hospital, whereas only 17% of people died at home.

The three main causes of death

Cardiovascular disease is still the most common cause of death, resulting in 1,264 deaths (31.8%) in 2016.

The second most frequent cause of death is cancer, which killed 1,121 people in 2016 (28.2%). The deadliest form of cancer is lung cancer, followed by bowel cancer and prostate cancer.

The third most common cause of death in Luxembourg are respiratory diseases with 298 deaths (7.5%) recorded in 2016.

There were 267 deaths due to external causes (6.7%).

Deaths linked to road accidents killed 38 people on Luxembourg’s roads.

Fewer suicides

The number of suicides was down in 2016. Among the 61 suicides, 48 were committed by men and 13 by women. Between 2010 and 2015 there were an average of 80 suicides per year.