Preliminary data put dementia above 10%; asthma deaths reached a decade high.
Why it matters: The dementia figures point to growing demand associated with an ageing population, including long-term care and support for families and carers. The asthma total highlights chronic-disease control concerns identified by Asthma Australia.
- Preliminary ABS data recorded dementia as the underlying cause of 19,019 deaths in 2025, or 10.1% of 188,421 registered deaths.
- Dementia was Australia’s leading cause of death for a second consecutive year.
- Preliminary ABS data recorded 484 asthma deaths in 2025, up from 478 in 2024; Asthma Australia described the total as a decade high.
- Women accounted for 61.1% of dementia deaths and 315 of the 484 asthma deaths.
Australia’s preliminary mortality data recorded dementia as the underlying cause of more than 10% of deaths in 2025, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The ABS recorded 19,019 dementia deaths, including deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia was the leading cause of death overall and among women, making it the leading cause for a second consecutive year, according to the ABS release.
The figures include 11,628 female deaths. The median age at death for people whose underlying cause was dementia was 88.3 years, compared with 81.9 years for all deaths.
The ABS said the age-standardised dementia death rate has been relatively stable, with the rising number of deaths reflecting Australia’s ageing population. The trend has implications for demand for dementia care and support for families and carers.
Comparisons with earlier years require caution. For this release, the ABS expanded its dementia grouping to include additional ICD-10 codes for frontotemporal and Lewy body dementia. The change complicates comparisons with earlier releases, so the 2016 figure of 13,854 and the increase to 19,019 in 2025 should not be treated as a directly comparable series without that qualification.
Asthma deaths also increased to 484 in 2025 from 478 in 2024. Those figures come from preliminary ABS mortality data; Asthma Australia described 484 deaths as the highest number in a decade and used the result to highlight concerns about asthma control. Its interpretation is not a causal finding from the ABS release.
By the numbers
- 19,019 - deaths for which dementia was recorded as the underlying cause in 2025
- 10.1% - dementia’s share of Australia’s 188,421 registered deaths
- 484 - preliminary asthma deaths in 2025, up from 478 in 2024
Yes, but: The dementia figures are affected by the ABS expansion of its dementia grouping, making comparisons with earlier releases, including the 2016 figure, less direct. Asthma Australia’s interpretation of the preliminary mortality data is separate from the ABS’s statistical findings.