It may happen to all of us eventually, but fewer of us are dying right now than at any time since mortality data was collected. In a dramatic report the latest figures also show that more people are dying of cancer than of circulatory diseases, for the first time since the data was recorded.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 484,367 deaths registered in England and Wales in 2011, a fall of 1.8% compared with 2010. The age-standardised mortality rates (which takes account of aging population) in 2011 were the lowest ever recorded for England and Wales, at 6,236 deaths per million population for males and 4,458 deaths per million population for female.

Cancer death rates have fallen by 14% for men and 10% for women in the previous decade.

And between 2001 and 2011, the death rates for circulatory diseases fell by 44% to 1,803 deaths per million population for males and 1,110 deaths per million population for females.

We may worry about murders or swine flu, but the big killers of heart disease and cancer are much more significant in terms of public health. What is also striking is how constant many of these numbers of deaths are - why do around 17,000 people die each year in accidents, for instance? Why do around 200 people accidentally drown every year?

Besides the graphic above (which you can download as a PDF), we've summarised two of the datasets below: major causes of death and deaths from external causes - ie, accidents or assaults. If you want to find out how many people died after being bitten by dogs or falling off ladders, this is the place to look.

And, whatever we may worry about, this is one of the safest times to be alive, ever - as the chart below shows.

The data itself comes from death certificates and records the primary cause of death - which is why the influenza numbers are lower than other estimates. If you get flu, which then lowers your resistance enough for pneumonia to kill you, for instance, pneumonia would be the main cause of death recorded.

The data also includes regional figures too:

• The north east had a 12% higher mortality rate than the rest of the country using the standardised mortality ratio (SMR) calculation

• Levels were lowest in London and the south east, where they were 7% below the nation

• Manchester was the local authority with the highest SMR, at 32% above the national, while South Cambridgeshire's was 26% below

• In Wales, Blaenau Gwent had the highest SMR, 29% above the national level, while Monmouthshire had the lowest, at 10% below.

• The West Midlands had the highest regional infant mortality rate, with 6.0 deaths per thousand live births, and the south east had the lowest, with 3.5 deaths per thousand live births

• Wales had an infant mortality rate of 3.9 deaths per thousand live births

Dataseed has visualised each years' data with its interactive guide.



Can you do something better? The full data is below for you to download.

Data summary

Major causes of death, 2011 Click heading to sort table. Download this data Cause of death 2011 TOTAL MALE FEMALE % change, 2010-11 % change, 2007-11 All causes, all ages 484,367 234,660 249,707 -2 -4 All causes, ages under 28 days 2,203 1,288 915 3 -3 All causes, ages 28 days and over 482,164 233,372 248,792 -2 -4 Cancers and neoplasms 143,181 75,323 67,858 1 2 Circulatory diseases 139,706 69,587 70,119 -12 -18 Respiratory diseases 67,690 32,033 35,657 1 -2 Mental and behavioural disorders** 31,048 10,088 20,960 56 87 Digestive diseases 24,582 11,909 12,673 -4 -4 Diseases of the nervous system 18,548 8,398 10,150 0.35 13 Death not caused by disease 17,590 11,013 6,577 2 1 Other causes 10,193 2,624 7,569 3 -8 Genitourinary diseases 9,500 3,935 5,565 -23 -16 Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases 6,497 2,989 3,508 -10 -10 Infectious and parasitic diseases 5,410 2,392 3,018 7 -34 Musculoskeletal system 4,180 1,391 2,789 0.36 -3 Skin diseases 1,659 553 1,106 -11 -9 Congenital diseases and chromasomal abnormalities 1,100 558 542 -7 -11 Blood diseases and immune systems 999 442 557 -2 -3 Babies dying before, during or after birth 195 117 78 -13 8 Pregnancy and childbirth 44 44 26 -6 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process 23 12 11 15 77 Diseases of the eye and adnexa 19 8 11 73 171

Accidents and external causes Click heading to sort table. Download this data Cause Type MALE FEMALE 2011 2007 % change, 2007-2011 External causes of morbidity TOTAL 11,013 6,577 17,590 17,420 0.98 Death from injury or poisoning, not known if deliberate or not TOTAL 268 102 370 420 -11.90 Accidents total Acc. 6,452 4,938 11,390 11,809 -3.55 Transport accidents total Acc., transport 1,380 435 1,815 2,968 -38.85 Pedestrian injured in transport accident Acc., transport, pedest. 261 104 365 645 -43.41 Pedestrian in collision with cycle Acc., transport, pedest. 2 1 3 6 -50.00 Pedestrian in collision with motorbike Acc., transport, pedest. 7 3 10 23 -56.52 Pedestrian in collision with car or van Acc., transport, pedest. 78 43 121 275 -56.00 Pedestrian in collision with lorry or bus Acc., transport, pedest. 34 7 41 89 -53.93 Pedestrian injured hit by train Acc., transport, pedest. 18 1 19 45 -57.78 Cyclist in transport accident Acc., transport, cycle 81 17 98 136 -27.94 Cyclist injured in collision with car or van Acc., transport, cycle 31 3 34 41 -17.07 Motorcyclist in transport accident Acc., transport, m' cycle 303 14 317 517 -38.68 Motorcyclist in collision with car or van Acc., transport, m' cycle 84 3 87 176 -50.57 Car occupant injured in transport accident Acc., transport, car 474 205 679 1,305 -47.97 Car occupant injured in collision with car or van Acc., transport, car 41 27 68 206 -66.99 Car occupant in collision with stationary object Acc., transport, car 141 37 178 334 -46.71 Water transport accidents Acc., transport 15 3 18 26 -30.77 Air and space transport accidents Acc., transport 23 3 26 23 13.04 Falls total Acc., Fall 1,938 1,947 3,885 3,318 17.09 Fall on and from stairs and steps Acc., Fall 369 324 693 620 11.77 Fall on and from ladder Acc., Fall 51 1 52 57 -8.77 Fall from, out of or through building/structure Acc., Fall 83 13 96 104 -7.69 Fall from cliff Acc., Fall 5 5 10 17 -41.18 Inanimate objects Inan. Obj 76 24 100 111 -9.91 Struck by thrown, projected or falling object Inan. Obj 26 7 33 50 -34.00 Animate objects total Animals, people 24 6 30 18 66.67 Hit, struck, kicked, twisted, bitten or scratched by another Animals, people 5 5 4 25.00 Bitten by rat Animals 0 1 -100.00 Bitten by dog Animals 3 6 Bitten or struck by other mammals Animals 4 3 9 10 -10.00 Accidental drowning total Acc. Drown 170 47 175 193 -9.33 In bath tub Acc. Drown 9 20 16 18 -11.11 Drowning in swimming pool, or falling in Acc. Drown 3 8 9 -11.11 Drowning in natural water Acc. Drown 58 10 53 61 -13.11 Other accidental threats to breathing Acc. Suff 383 244 544 502 8.37 Accidental suffocation in bed Acc. Suff 2 3 8 8 0.00 Accidental hanging/strangulation Acc. Suff 169 45 116 118 -1.69 Inhalation of stomach contents Choking 59 54 110 119 -7.56 Inhalation and ingestion of food Choking 100 103 210 180 16.67 Exposure to electric current, radiation and extreme ambient air temperature and pressure total Atmos 35 2 30 30 0.00 Exposure to smoke, fire and flames Atmos 123 114 242 227 6.61 Contact with heat and hot substances Atmos 6 11 26 29 -10.34 Contact with hornets, wasps and bees Atmos, insects 3 2 2 4 -50.00 Exposure to forces of nature Atmos, nature 68 61 79 109 -27.52 Exposure to excessive natural cold Atmos, nature, cold 68 61 76 99 -23.23 Victim of lightning Atmos 0 2 -100.00 Accidental poisoning total Acc. Poison 1,076 447 1,993 1,207 65.12 Exposure to narcotics and hallucinogens Acc. Poison 508 115 814 483 68.53 Accidental alcohol poisoning Acc. Poison 130 58 381 167 128.14 Lack of food Starv- ation 3 3 3 4 -25.00 Intentional self-harm Suicide, harm 2,613 764 3,644 3,165 15.13 Hanging/strangulation Suicide, harm 1,664 347 2,164 1,812 19.43 Assault TOTAL 211 108 329 369 -10.84 Complications of medical and surgical care TOTAL 218 215 489 414 18.12

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