Dementia Crisis: Women Account for Over 62% of Deaths as Disease Becomes Australia’s Top Killer

CANBERRA — New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirm that dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, a significant health milestone that casts a spotlight on the disease\’s disproportionate impact on women and the growing strain on public health resources.

The ABS data for 2024 reveals that of the 17,549 lives claimed by dementia, 62.4% were women. This reflects the national trend where dementia has been the leading cause of death for Australian women since 2016, primarily because women have longer life expectancies, making them more likely to reach the high-risk age bracket (median age of death was 88.7 years).

Shift Signals Success and Struggle

Dementia\’s ascent to the top position—accounting for 9.4% of all deaths—ends heart disease’s decades-long reign, a change that ABS head of mortality statistics, Lauren Moran, explained is due to successful long-term public health campaigns and medical advances in treating heart conditions.

However, the mortality map shows a clear regional divide:

Dementia is the leading cause of death in major cities and inner regional areas.

Coronary heart disease remains the leading killer for men nationally and for people in outer regional, remote, and very remote Australia.

Funding and Future Projections

The growing burden of dementia underscores an urgent public health challenge. As the population continues to age, experts predict the number of Australians living with dementia will exceed one million by 2065 without significant intervention. The statistics reinforce the need for greater investment in research, early diagnosis, and support for the millions of Australians involved in the care of someone living with the degenerative disease.