134 Malaga residents died from falls in 2024; more than twice as many as in traffic accidents

Mortality analysis in Malaga mostly follows the norm and the trends of the whole country. The province registered a total of 13,503 deaths in 2024, which is 3.2% less than in 2023, according to data from the cause of death statistics made public this week by the INE. More than half of the deaths, 7,266 to be precise, were due to tumours (3,767) or pathologies associated with circulatory or heart disorders (3,499).

In 2024, 134 people from Malaga died as a result of accidental falls (154 in 2023), more than double the number of deaths due to traffic accidents (at 58). This figure is even more remarkable given that the Costa del Sol is one of the areas with the highest vehicle traffic in the country, especially during high season, when the unregistered population doubles in coastal municipalities.

But there is other very striking data: 66 people from Malaga died from drowning, submersion (total or partial submersion in a liquid) or suffocation (asphyxiation by choking, among other causes). Another 36 died from accidental poisoning by drugs (including psychoactive substances) and there were three accidental poisonings.

A total of 15 Malaga province residents were killed. 553 people lost their lives due to what are known as external causes. The increase in the number of suicides is undeniable, 168 in 2024 compared to 163 in 2025.

These numbers call for the necessary precaution against falls of all kinds (whether in the shower, doing housework or in the street) and to avoid choking at mealtimes and when swimming at the beach or in the pool.

The province recorded more than 14,000 deaths in the last few years, particularly from 2020 to 2022 - during the pandemic. From 2023 onwards, the numbers of deaths caused by Covid-19 have continued to fall. In 2024, 134 people died from the disease, compared to 227 in 2023. Nevertheless, the data confirms that the virus, as experts predicted, is here to stay - although its destructive potential has reduced in parallel with the rapid development of vaccines. However, people are still dying from Covid-19.

In relation to the usual causes of death, the main cause was various types of cancer (3,767 deaths) among which, malignant tumours in the trachea, bronchus and lung stand out (822 cases); followed by tumour pathology related to the colon (345), other digestive tumours (265) and breast cancer (223).

The second highest cause was circulatory diseases (3,499), including 751 cases of cerebrovascular disease, 470 deaths due to heart failure and 460 due to heart attack.

Circulatory diseases were followed by respiratory pathologies, with 1,416 deaths, including 302 cases of pneumonia, 365 deaths due to chronic diseases of the lower respiratory tract and 570 deaths due to other illnesses of this nature.

In fourth place on this list are nervous system and sensory organ diseases (851), including Alzheimer's (501 cases).

This was followed by mental and behavioural disorders, with 666 deaths - 636 of which were due to senile or pre-senile psychiatric pathologies and 10 due to alcohol abuse.

Pathologies linked to the digestive system also saw 666 deaths, including cirrhosis and other liver diseases (141). Deaths related to abnormal clinical and laboratory findings had 580 cases (of note are cardiac arrest or unassisted death, 102; or senility, 160). Further reasons included external causes of mortality (553), diseases of the genitourinary system (465), including kidney and urethra diseases (229) and infectious parasitic diseases, with 371 cases.