Causes of Death Statistics 2020 to 2022

FOCUS

This report titled Causes of Death Statistics 2020 to 2022 was released by the Office of the Registrar General, India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs in June 2025 through the Sample Registration System (SRS). The Office of the Registrar General is the national authority responsible for compiling official data on births, deaths, and population statistics. 

The report presents national estimates on causes of death for the period 2020 to 2022. It examines how causes of death vary by age, sex, and rural and urban residence. The sample frame for the study is based on the Census 2011 and covers 8,841 sample units, including both rural and urban areas, with an estimated population coverage of about 8.4 million people across states and union territories. Data collection is carried out in two rounds each year.

The report groups causes of death into major categories such as communicable conditions, non-communicable diseases, injuries, and ill-defined causes using global burden classification groupings. It also provides separate analysis for select medical causes such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV. 

The findings show that non-communicable diseases account for the largest share of deaths in India, followed by communicable and related conditions. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading specific cause of death overall. Suicide is the leading cause of death in the 15-29 years age group. 

This 104-page document is divided into five chapters: Introduction, Survey Design and Estimation Procedure (Chapter 1); Major Causes of Deaths (Chapter 2); Mortality Patterns in Specific Age Groups (Chapter 3); Deaths due to Specific Medical Causes (Chapter 4); and Region-wise Top 10 Causes of Death. (Chapter 5). 

    FACTOIDS

  1. Non-communicable diseases accounted for 55.7 per cent of all deaths in India from 2020 to 2022, making them the largest cause group. Communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions account for 24 per cent of all deaths, which is less than half the share of non-communicable diseases.

  2. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading specific cause of death overall and account for 30.9 per cent of deaths across all ages.

  3. Deaths below 29 days of age account for about 2.6 per cent of all deaths, and prematurity and low birth weight alone account for about 44.7 per cent of deaths in this neonatal group.

  4. In the 0-to-4 years age group, about 4.9 per cent of all rural deaths and 2.9 per cent of all urban deaths occur among young children within this age group.

  5. The report identifies suicide under intentional injuries as the leading cause of death in the 15–29 years age group.

  6. In the 30-69 years age group, tuberculosis accounts for about 3 percent of deaths, which is higher than its share across all ages.

  7. In the northern region of the country, cardiovascular diseases account for about 34.7 per cent of all deaths and are the leading cause, followed by respiratory infections at about 7.7 per cent. In the northeastern region, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, and cancers have a higher share here than in most other regions at about 8.3 per cent. The eastern region shows the highest regional share of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases at about 35.1 per cent.

  8. The central region has a lower share of deaths from cardiovascular diseases at about 22.7 per cent compared to other regions, though it remains the top cause. Respiratory infections account for their highest regional share in the western region at about 14.1 per cent of deaths, while cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause. In the southern region, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, and cancers account for a relatively higher share here causing about 6.8 per cent of the total deaths.

    Focus and Factoids by G. Chippy.

    PARI Library's health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.

AUTHOR

Office of the Registrar General, India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

COPYRIGHT

Office of the Registrar General, India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

PUBLICATION DATE

Jun, 2025

TAGS

#death-rate #birth-rate #suicide-rate #health #diseases

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