Cardiovascular disease made up nearly 18% of South African deaths in 2024

Cardiovascular diseases accounted for 17.8% of registered deaths in South Africa in 2024, making them the largest single contributor to mortality that year, Statistics South Africa reported. The data, released around Heart Awareness Month and World Heart Day on 29 September, show clear differences in risk by age, sex and province.

National picture

The agency’s analysis found that cardiovascular disease was responsible for 17.8% of all registered deaths in 2024. Over the decade from 2014 to 2024, cardiovascular diseases made up an average of 17.9% of deaths. Of the 474,366 deaths registered with the Department of Home Affairs in 2024, more than 60% were attributed to chronic (non-communicable) diseases the highest proportion since 1997.

Age and sex patterns

Deaths from cardiovascular causes rose sharply for men from age 40 and peaked among men aged 65 to 69, with 5,176 deaths recorded in 2024. For women, deaths remained below men’s counts until the 65 to 69 age group, when 5,015 deaths were recorded. From age 70 onward, cardiovascular deaths among women exceeded those among men, peaking at 5,903 deaths for women aged 80 to 84.

Leading cardiovascular causes

Hypertensive and cerebrovascular diseases (which include stroke) were consistently among South Africa’s top 10 causes of death over the past decade. In 2024:

• Diabetes was the single leading individual cause at 6.1% of registered deaths.
• Hypertensive diseases accounted for 5.5% of all registered deaths and ranked second among individual causes.
• Cerebrovascular diseases accounted for 5.4% of deaths and ranked third among individual causes.

Women carried a higher share of deaths from both hypertensive and cerebrovascular conditions: hypertensive diseases made up 7.1% of female deaths versus 4.1% of male deaths, while cerebrovascular diseases accounted for 6.4% of female deaths and 4.5% of male deaths.

Regional differences

The leading cardiovascular cause varied by province. Hypertensive diseases were the top cardiovascular cause in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State and Northern Cape. In the coastal provinces of Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, cerebrovascular diseases were the leading cardiovascular cause of death.

Broader context

Statistics South Africa noted a longer-term shift in the country’s mortality profile.

“The numbers tell an important story about what is driving mortality in South Africa. Non-communicable diseases (chronic diseases) dominated South Africa’s mortality profile from 1997 to 2002, before communicable diseases took the lead during the period of heightened HIV-related mortality,” said the agency.

The 2024 figures were published by Statistics South Africa as part of its analysis of registered deaths and causes of death for that year.