Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands

Netherlands: Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death was 7.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
7.3%
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
34th
of 113 countries
All-time high
7.3%
in 2023
All-time low
2.9%
in 1985
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands, 1950–2023

02468195019862023

Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Netherlands recorded 7.3% for share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 84.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands peaked at 7.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 1985.

That places Netherlands 34th out of 113 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands, year by year

Annual values for Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands, 1950 to 2023.
Year % Change
1950 6.5%
1951 5.9% -9.3%
1952 5.5% -6.6%
1953 5.2% -6.7%
1954 5.4% +4.7%
1955 5.1% -5.6%
1956 4.9% -3.6%
1957 4.0% -18.5%
1958 4.2% +3.4%
1959 4.1% -1.6%
1960 4.3% +5.3%
1961 4.0% -7.1%
1962 4.0% +0.7%
1963 3.8% -6.9%
1964 3.6% -5.3%
1965 3.7% +3.1%
1966 3.4% -7.6%
1967 3.5% +2.0%
1968 3.2% -6.4%
1969 3.2% +0.1%
1970 3.5% +6.6%
1971 3.6% +2.9%
1972 3.9% +11.2%
1973 3.8% -3.3%
1974 3.9% +2.6%
1975 4.7% +20.5%
1976 4.8% +1.3%
1977 5.4% +14.0%
1978 4.7% -14.2%
1979 3.4% -28.1%
1980 4.5% +34.7%
1981 3.5% -23.6%
1982 3.4% -0.7%
1983 3.2% -5.7%
1984 3.0% -8.6%
1985 2.9% -2.5%
1986 3.8% +30.5%
1987 3.4% -10.9%
1988 3.6% +8.1%
1989 4.1% +13.7%
1990 4.1% +0.3%
1991 4.0% -3.0%
1992 4.1% +1.5%
1993 4.1% +1.5%
1994 3.9% -5.8%
1995 4.3% +10.5%
1996 4.4% +2.3%
1997 4.7% +7.2%
1998 5.0% +6.7%
1999 5.1% +2.0%
2000 5.5% +7.2%
2001 5.8% +5.9%
2002 5.5% -5.0%
2003 5.0% -9.5%
2004 4.5% -9.9%
2005 4.2% -7.3%
2006 4.2% +1.0%
2007 4.0% -5.6%
2008 3.9% -1.1%
2009 3.9% -1.7%
2010 3.8% -1.2%
2011 3.6% -4.7%
2012 3.9% +5.9%
2013 4.0% +2.8%
2014 3.9% -0.6%
2015 3.8% -4.8%
2016 4.1% +8.5%
2017 4.1% +1.6%
2018 4.2% +1.6%
2019 5.3% +26.8%
2020 5.3% -0.0%
2021 6.3% +18.1%
2022 7.0% +10.7%
2023 7.3% +4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 5.1% 4.0% 6.5% 10
1960s 3.7% 3.2% 4.3% 10
1970s 4.2% 3.4% 5.4% 10
1980s 3.5% 2.9% 4.5% 10
1990s 4.4% 3.9% 5.1% 10
2000s 4.7% 3.9% 5.8% 10
2010s 4.1% 3.6% 5.3% 10
2020s 6.5% 5.3% 7.3% 4

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 31 Azerbaijan 8.3% compare
  2. 32 Kuwait 7.7% compare
  3. 33 Belgium 7.4% compare
  4. 35 Belarus 7.2% compare
  5. 36 Turkey 7.1% compare
  6. 37 Russia 6.9% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More health data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands?
Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands was 7.3% in 2023, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death recorded in Netherlands?
The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 2023.
What is the lowest share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death recorded in Netherlands?
The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 1985.
How does Netherlands rank for share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death?
Netherlands ranks 34th out of 113 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death rising or falling in Netherlands?
Over the last ten years it is up 84.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Netherlands data come from?
The figures come from WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death in Netherlands. Statizoid, drawing on WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/deaths-registered-with-an-ill-defined-cause-of-death/netherlands/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of deaths registered with an ill-defined cause of death
Unit
%
Source
WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
113 places, 4,964 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Share of total reported deaths in both sexes in those aged all ages that are from ill-defined diseases.