Dementia has become the leading cause of death in Australia, surpassing heart disease for the first time, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In 2024, more than 17,500 deaths were attributed to dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, accounting for 9.4% of all deaths nationwide.
The ABS report recorded a total of 187,268 registered deaths in 2024, with dementia deaths rising by 39% over the past decade. ABS head of mortality statistics Lauren Moran attributed the increase to an aging population, noting that 95% of dementia deaths occurred in people aged over 75 years. “People are now more likely to live to an age where they have a higher risk of developing dementia,” she said.
Ischaemic heart diseases, which were previously the leading cause, have reached their lowest rate since ABS began recording data a decade ago, with deaths decreasing by 18.3% since 2015. For premature deaths (ages 1-78), suicide and coronary heart disease were the leading causes. The national suicide rate surpassed 3,300 deaths in 2024.
Dementia was the leading cause of death for men aged over 85, while for men aged 75-84, ischaemic heart diseases remained the top cause. Among women, dementia accounted for 62% of deaths. Moran noted that deaths are increasingly complex, with people living longer and often having multiple conditions listed on death certificates. Approximately 80% of dementia deaths had other diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, or cancers.
Dementia Australia chief executive Tanya Buchanan called for increased investment in public health and dementia risk reduction, warning that without significant intervention, the number of Australians with dementia could exceed 1 million by 2065. “We need to act on dementia now,” she said, emphasizing the need for awareness and stigma reduction.
