Background: This study analyzed the causes of death in the Korean population in 2020. Methods: Cause-of-death data for 2020 from Statistics Korea were examined based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death, 7th revision and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision. Results: In total, 304,948 deaths occurred, reflecting an increase of 9,838 (3.3%) from 2019. The crude death rate (the number of deaths per 100,000 people) was 593.9, corresponding to an increase of 19.0 (3.3%) from 2019. The 10 leading causes of death, in descending order, were malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, pneumonia, cerebrovascular diseases, intentional self-harm, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer disease, liver diseases, hypertensive diseases, and sepsis. Cancer accounted for 27.0% of deaths. Within the category of malignant neoplasms, the top 5 leading organs of involvement were the lung, liver, colon, stomach, and pancreas. Sepsis was included in the 10 leading causes of death for the first time. Mortality due to pneumonia decreased to 43.3 (per 100,000 people) from 45.1 in 2019. The number of deaths due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was 950, of which 54.5% were in people aged 80 or older. Conclusion These changes reflect the continuing increase in deaths due to diseases of old age, including sepsis. The decrease in deaths due to pneumonia may have been due to protective measures against SARS-CoV-2. With the concomitant decrease in fertility, 2020 became the first year in which Korea’s natural total population decreased.

Background: This study aimed to present and analyze the causes of death in the Korean population in 2019. Methods: Based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, cause-of-death data for 2019 from Statistics Korea were examined. Results: There were 295,110 total deaths, a decrease of 3,710 (-1.27%) from 2018. The crude death rate (the number of deaths per 100,000 people) was 574.8, a decrease of 7.6 (-1.3%) from 2018. The top ten causes of death, in descending order, were malignant neoplasms, heart disease, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disease, intentional self-harm, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer disease, liver disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, and hypertension. Within the malignant neoplasm category, the top five organs affected were the lung, liver, colon, stomach, and pancreas (in the same order as in 2018). Alzheimer disease moved up from ninth to seventh on the list of leading causes of death in 2018. Among women, it ranked as the fifth leading cause of death, while pneumonia became the third leading cause of death. Conclusion These changes reflect the increasing number of women > 65 years who are vulnerable to cognitive impairment and infectious diseases. The Korean government must urgently take preventive and therapeutic measures against dementia, especially Alzheimer disease.