Cape Town - Capetonians have a longer lifespan than Pretoria residents, Statistics SA says.
Men in Cape Town live on average to 54, while their Pretoria counterparts live to 52. Capetonian women live to 64 on average, while in Pretoria the age for women is 56.
The figures are based on StatsSA’s report for mortality and causes of death for 2011. They were released by statistician-general Pali Lehohla.
While it seems that Capetonians have a longer lifespan than those on the Highveld, the report reveals that 26 466 fatalities were reported in Cape Town in 2011. Gauteng’s capital shows a lower figure at 19 547.
Tuberculosis is the leading cause of natural deaths in both areas, with 8.2 percent in Pretoria and 6.6 percent in Cape Town.
Death caused by diseases stemming from HIV is 5.7 percent in Cape Town, while in Pretoria it is 2.6 percent. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia are also high on the list of causes of natural death.
Mortality is, however, dropping nationally, with a total of 505 803 deaths registered in 2011.
Overall, the leading cause of death among black and coloured people is TB, reported at 12 and eight percent respectively. Most fatalities among Indians are caused by diabetes (13.5 percent), while fatalities among white people (11.3 percent) are mostly due to heart disease.
More women than men aged between 15 to 49 die as a result of assault and due to HIV/Aids.
This comes against an increase in average life expectancy to just under 60 years, up from 54 in 2011, which has been widely attributed to the turn-around in the fight against HIV and Aids, largely through the expansion of ARV treatment.
The leading cause of death in 2011 overall was TB (11 percent), flu and pneumonia (seven percent), followed by cerebrovascular disease, affecting blood circulation to the brain and heart diseases (five percent), and at four percent each diabetes, intestinal diseases and HIV and Aids.
In the 15 to 24 age group, however, HIV and Aids emerged as the third leading cause of death after TB and flu and pneumonia. That group is also the most affected by non-natural causes of death at 15 percent.
Almost double the number of women died from assault compared to men – lending support to concern that women are more likely to be murdered than men in what is often described as South Africa’s high levels of gender violence.
However, more men aged 15 to 49 die in transport-related accidents and from complications due to medical and surgical treatment. Suicide is almost equally balanced between genders at a small percentage of non-natural deaths. - Cape Argus