Daily deaths in S. Korea reach 672 in 2008: report

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SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- The average number of daily South Korean deaths
reached 672 in 2008, up by one from the year before, a government report showed
Sunday.
According to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO), there were a
total of 246,113 deaths tallied for the whole of last year, up by 1,239 compared
to the year before.
It said of all deaths, roughly half were due to cancer, cerebrovascular disease
and heart-related illnesses. It added an average of 12.7 people lost their lives
as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
Cancer accounted for 28.0 percent of all deaths in the cited year, followed by
11.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, for cerebrovascular and heart
diseases. Lung, liver and stomach cancer were the three main types of cancer
tallied.
Suicide made up 5.2 percent of all deaths, followed by complications derived from
diabetes, with traffic deaths and liver-related diseases accounting for 2-4
percent of all deaths.
The NSO's latest findings said that while death decreased across the board in
terms of age groups, there was a slight increase among people in their 20s.
"Deaths among males in their 20s and 30s moved up, while a slight increase was
found for females in their teens," the report said.
It said of all deaths, 136,932 were males, with deaths among women reaching
109,181. Numbers for males were up by 2,010, while those for women were down 771.
Male fatalities stood at 1.2 times that of females on average, and rose 2.9 times
for people in their 50s before falling off gradually among older age groups.
The crude death rate, meanwhile, stood relatively unchanged at 498.2 people from
498.4 in 2008. The crude death rate refers to the number of deaths reported for
every 100,000 people, with experts saying that advances made in the medical
sector and more attention paid to health have stabilized numbers.
Among the 30 member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Hungary
ranked highest in terms of crude death, with South Korea coming in 16th.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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