Portugal 2016

ENQUADRAMENTO SOCIOECONÓMICO SAÚDE SOCIO-ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK HEALTH 63 Within the scope of mortality-related health indicators, the infant mortality rate increased to 3.2‰ in 2016, accounting for the midpoint between the average of the 2006-10 and 2011-15 periods (3.4‰ and 3.0‰ respectively). In 1990 it had stood at 10.9‰, declining almost continuously up to 2008, when it reached 3.3‰; from that year onwards the indicator fluctuated. With regard to the main causes of death in Portugal, 29.8% of total deaths in 2015 were caused by disease of the circulatory system and 24.5% by malignant neoplasms. The respective mortality rates remained stable, the former standing at 3.1‰ in 2015 (a similar value in 2014 and 3.0‰ in 2013) and the latter at 2.6‰, accounting for a 0.1 p.p. increase from the previous year. However, the number and relative importance of these two causes showed distinct paths: the former declined, the latter did not. The overall rates of change in the number of causes were -20.9% and 24.2% between 2000 and 2015.