Credit: STATEC
On Monday 12 January 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Health and Social Security published details of the leading causes of death in the country in 2024.
According to the ministry, in 2024, the Register of Causes of Death of the Directorate of Health recorded 4,308 deaths (2,186 men and 2,122 women) within the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which is 50 more deaths than in the previous year.
The ministry reported that the average age at death was 75 for men and 81 for women. The Register of Causes of Death also recorded 98 stillbirths in 2024, which are not included in the total number of deaths.
With regard to causes, 94.2% of all deaths were due to illnesses and 5.8% were attributable to external causes. More than half of all deaths occurred in hospital (52.4%), more than a quarter in nursing homes (28.6%), 16.7% at home and 2.3% in other locations.
In 2024, tumours remained the leading cause of mortality in Luxembourg, ahead of diseases of the circulatory system. Tumours accounted for 1,224 deaths (560 women and 664 men), representing 28.4% of all deaths. Among men, lung cancer caused the highest number of cancer-related deaths (122 deaths), followed by prostate cancer (65 deaths) and pancreatic cancer (51 deaths). Among women, breast cancer remained the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with 107 deaths, followed by lung cancer (95 deaths) and pancreatic cancer (46 deaths).
Diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 1,006 deaths (510 women and 496 men), representing 23.3% of all deaths.
Diseases of the respiratory system ranked third, followed by mental and behavioural disorders, external causes and diseases of the nervous system (representing 8.7%, 7.9%, 5.8% and 5.6% of all deaths respectively).
