As compared to 1997 the number of deceased persons increased by about 0,3 percent. To facilitate comparison with other years and regions age standardizing is used. In this publication the mean population of 1995 is used for both women and men as the standard population. The most common cause of death both for women and men is diseases of circulation organs. The second most common cause of death is tumors where the figures are 22 percent for women and 25 percent for men.
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer among women.
Prostate cancer is the most common among men. The development in Sweden during the period 1987-98 is favorable. The mortality trend for most of the causes of death is falling. The trend is the same for women and men, although the level is higher for men than for women. For men the corresponding rate has decreased from 360 to 230.