New Delhi: A total of 81.15 lakh medically certified deaths were registered in India in 2020. Of these, heart diseases, pneumonia, and asthma together claimed the highest number of lives, accounting for 42 per cent of deaths in the country, according to a report prepared by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGCCI).
Covid-19, which hit the country in 2020, claimed nearly nine per cent of the lives, according to the 'Report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2020'. The number of lives claimed was 1,60,618.
According to the RGCCI report, circulatory system diseases claimed 32.1 per cent lives, while respiratory system diseases took 10 per cent lives, news agency PTI reported.
People who died due to pulmonary circulation and other forms of heart disease and ischemic heart control were categorised as deaths due to 'diseases of respiratory system'.
Deaths occurring due to pneumonia, asthma, and related diseases were termed as deaths due to the 'diseases of respiratory system'.
The third leading group constituted 8.9 per cent of the total medically certified deaths. It was classified under the category 'Codes for special purposes' COVID-19'.
The fourth leading cause of death were constituted by certain infectious and parasitic diseases, including septicaemia and tuberculosis. These diseases claimed 7.1 per cent lives in 2020 in India.
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases constituted the fifth leading cause of death. They were responsible for 5.8 per cent of the total medically certified deaths. One of the major causes under this category is diabetes.
Injury, poisoning, and certain other consequences of external causes such as fractures, poisoning by drugs, and biological substances together represented the sixth leading cause of the country's deaths, accounting for 5.6 per cent of the total deaths.
Neoplasm or cancer was the seventh leading cause of death. It accounted for 4.7 per cent of the total medically certified deaths in 2020.
Males constituted 64 per cent of the total medically certified deaths, while females constituted 36 per cent of the total deaths.
As many as 5,17,678 deaths were reported for people aged 70 years and above. These represented 28.6 per cent of the total medically certified deaths. The highest number of deaths were reported for people aged 70 years and above.
The first leading cause of death for people aged 45 years and above was circulatory system diseases, including heart diseases.
Among infants, who are children aged less than one year, 5.7 per cent of total medically certified deaths were reported.
About 71.7 per cent of all infant deaths were reportedly caused by certain conditions originating during the perinatal period.
Diseases of the circulatory system claimed 18 per cent of deaths in the age group of 15 to 24 years. Therefore, the highest number of deaths in people belonging to this age group were caused by circulatory system diseases.
These were followed by injury, poisoning, and certain other consequences of external causes, which constituted 15.7 per cent of deaths. This implies that the age group is particularly vulnerable to 'injuries and poisoning related death', the RGCCI report said.