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    Home / Data Portal / STATSSA / ZAF-STATSSA-MCD-1997-2020-V1
StatsSA

Mortality and Causes of Death 1997-2020

South Africa, 1997 - 2020
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Reference ID
zaf-statssa-mcd-1997-2020-v1
Producer(s)
Statistics South Africa, Department of Home Affairs
Collections
Statistics South Africa
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Oct 02, 2020
Last modified
May 18, 2025
Page views
15312
Downloads
3288
  • Study Description
  • Data Description
  • Downloads
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  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • survey_instrument
  • Data Collection
  • Data appraisal
  • Data Access
  • Disclaimer and copyrights
  • Metadata production
  • Identification

    Survey ID number

    zaf-statssa-mcd-1997-2020-v1

    Title

    Mortality and Causes of Death 1997-2020

    Abbreviation or Acronym

    MCD 1997-2020

    Country
    Name Country code
    South Africa zaf
    Study type

    Socio-Economic/Monitoring Survey

    Abstract

    This cumulative dataset contains statistics on mortality and causes of death in South Africa covering the period 1997-2020. The mortality and causes of death dataset is part of a regular series published by Stats SA, based on data collected through the civil registration system. This dataset is the most recent cumulative round in the series which began with the separately available dataset Recorded Deaths 1996.

    The main objective of this dataset is to outline emerging trends and differentials in mortality by selected socio-demographic and geographic characteristics for deaths that occurred in the registered year and over time. Reliable mortality statistics, are the cornerstone of national health information systems, and are necessary for population health assessment, health policy and service planning; and programme evaluation. They are essential for studying the occurrence and distribution of health-related events, their determinants and management of related health problems. These data are particularly critical for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 which share the same goal for a high standard of living and quality of life, sound health and well-being for all and at all ages. Mortality statistics are also required for assessing the impact of non-communicable diseases (NCD's), emerging infectious diseases, injuries and natural disasters.

    Kind of Data

    Administrative records

    Unit of Analysis

    Individuals

    Version

    Version Description

    v1: Edited, anonymised dataset for public distribution

    Version Date

    2025

    Version Notes

    Version 1 of the dataset was downloaded from Statistics South Africa's website on 13 May 2025.

    Scope

    Notes

    This dataset contains statistics on mortality and causes of death that occured in South Africa over the period 1997-2020 and were registered by the Department of Home Affairs. Other socio-demographic and geographic characteristics of the deceased include age, gender, marital status, education, occupation and place of birth and death.

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage

    The survey has national coverage.

    Geographic Unit

    The lowest level of geographic aggregation covered by the data is province.

    Universe

    This dataset is based on information on mortality and causes of death from the South African civil registration system. It covers all death notification forms from the Department of Home Affairs for deaths that occurred in 1997-2020, that reached Stats SA during the 2021/2022 processing phase.

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name Affiliation
    Statistics South Africa Government of South Africa
    Department of Home Affairs Government of South Africa

    survey_instrument

    Questionnaires

    The registration of deaths is captured using two instruments: form BI-1663 and form DHA-1663 (Notification/Register of death/stillbirth).

    Data Collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End
    1997 2020
    Mode of data collection
    • Other
    Data Collection Notes

    The registration of deaths is governed by the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992 as amended), and is administered by the Department of Home Affairs. After a death is registered, the Department of Home Affairs issues a death certificate and, where applicable, updates the population register. The forms are then collected by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) for processing.

    Data appraisal

    Data Appraisal

    This cumulative dataset is part of a regular series published by Stats SA and includes all previous rounds in the series (excluding Recorded Deaths 1996). Stats SA only includes one variable to classify the occupation group of the deceased (OccupationGrp) in the current round (1997-2020). Prior to 2016, Stats SA included both occupation group (OccupationGrp) and industry classifcation (Industry) in all previous rounds. Therefore, DataFirst has made the 1997-2015 cumulative round available as a separately downloadable dataset which includes both occupation group and industry classification of the deceased spanning the years 1997-2015.

    Data Access

    Access authority
    Name Affiliation URL Email
    DataFirst University of Cape Town http://support.data1st.org support@data1st.org
    Access conditions

    Public access data for use under a Creative Commons CC-BY (Attribution-only) License

    Citation requirements

    Statistics South Africa. Mortality and Causes of Death 1997-2020 [dataset]. Version 1. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa [producer], 2025. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/kz4c-9748

    Disclaimer and copyrights

    Copyright

    Public Access

    Metadata production

    DDI Document ID

    ddi-zaf-datafirst-mcd-2011-v2

    Producers
    Name Affiliation Role
    DataFirst University of Cape Town Metadata Producer
    Date of Metadata Production

    2025-05-15

    Metadata version

    DDI Document version

    Version 1

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