Circulatory diseases, diabetes and cancers were the leading causes of death in Fiji from 2016-21 for both males and females for all ages, states the Vital Statistics Report 2016-2021 released by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Registrar General’s Office and the Ministry of Health & Medical Services.
The number of deaths in both sexes averages 7480 deaths per year but in 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji, the number of deaths sharply increased to 8815.
The report states among children aged 5-14 years, causes of death were accidental drowning and motor vehicle accidents.
Among young adults aged 15-34 years, causes of death for males were accidental suffocation, hanging and strangulation followed by motor vehicle accidents and in women it was primarily accidental suffocation, hanging and strangulation, followed by exposure to smoke, fire and flames.
In adults aged 35-59 years, the leading cause of death in men and women were non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
In men, diabetes mellitus was the second leading cause of death, followed by cancers.
Among women, cancers were the second leading cause of death (primarily breast and cervical cancer), followed by diabetes mellitus as the third leading cause of death.
