Deaths: Final Data for 2011

Objectives: This report presents final 2011 data on U.S. deaths, death rates, life expectancy, infant mortality, and trends by selected characteristics such as age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, state of residence, and cause of death.

Methods: Information reported on death certificates, which is completed by funeral directors, attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners, is presented in descriptive tabulations. The original records are filed in state registration offices. Statistical information is compiled in a national database through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Causes of death are processed in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision.

Results: In 2011, a total of 2,515,458 deaths were reported in the United States. The age-adjusted death rate was 741.3 deaths per 100,000 standard population, a decrease of 0.8% from the 2010 rate and a record low figure. Life expectancy at birth in 2011 was unchanged from 2010 at 78.7 years. Age-specific death rates decreased in 2011 from 2010 for age groups under 1 year, 65–74, 75–84, and 85 and over. Age-specific death rates increased for age groups 25–34 and 45–54. The leading causes of death in 2011 remained the same as in 2010, although two causes exchanged ranks. Kidney disease, the eighth leading cause in 2010, became the ninth leading cause in 2011, while Influenza and pneumonia, the ninth leading cause in 2010, became the eighth leading cause of death in 2011. The infant mortality rate of 6.07 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011 was a historically low value.

Conclusion: The decline of the age-adjusted death rate to a record low value for the United States is consistent with long-term trends in mortality.