U.S. Deaths in 2022: Provisional Data

The National Center for Health Statistics compiles U.S. death statistics from death certificates. Final figures for a year usually appear about 11 months after it ends, because some causes of death take time to investigate and records must be processed and reviewed. Provisional data, based on certificates as they arrive, give an earlier picture. This MMWR report summarized provisional data for 2022, covering more than 99% of that year's deaths among U.S. residents, as received by April 2, 2023.

Overall

• About 3,273,705 people died in the United States in 2022.
• The age-adjusted death rate fell 5.3%, from 879.7 per 100,000 in 2021 to 832.8.
• Weekly deaths peaked in the weeks ending January 22 (85,405) and December 31 (69,664).
• Death rates were lowest at ages 5–14 (14.8 per 100,000) and highest at 85 and older (15,605.2). Rates fell for every age group 15 and older but rose among children aged 1–4, from 25.0 to 26.9 per 100,000.
• Men's age-adjusted rate (984.8) remained higher than women's (700.9), though it fell more (6.0% versus 4.4%).
• Rates fell for every racial and ethnic group. They were lowest among multiracial (394.2) and Asian (447.2) people and highest among Black (1,028.0) and American Indian or Alaska Native (973.3) people.

COVID-19–associated and other deaths by week, United States, 2022. CDC figure.

COVID-19

COVID-19 was listed as an underlying or contributing cause in 244,986 deaths (61.3 per 100,000), 47% fewer than the 462,193 in 2021 (115.6 per 100,000). It was the underlying cause in about 76% of those deaths (186,702), or 5.7% of all deaths, down from 12.0% (416,893) in 2021. COVID-19 death rates fell for everyone 15 and older and for every racial and ethnic group, but rose among children under 15. Men's rate (76.3) was higher than women's (49.8).

Leading causes of death

Leading underlying causes of death, United States, 2022. CDC figure.

COVID-19, the third leading cause in 2021, fell to fourth. Heart disease and cancer deaths both rose from 2021 (695,547 and 605,213). Unintentional injury deaths stayed high, driven largely by drug overdoses; because injury deaths take longer to report, the final count may be higher. Provisional data suggest the age-adjusted heart disease death rate rose for the third straight year, and the cancer death rate, which fell steadily from 1999 to 2020, rose in 2021 and 2022.

What it means

Most groups saw lower death rates, but people 85 and older, Black people and American Indian and Alaska Native people still had the highest overall and COVID-19 death rates. The authors noted that provisional data give researchers and policymakers an early signal of shifts in mortality and can guide efforts to reduce deaths linked to the pandemic, especially among older people, men and some racial and ethnic minority groups.

Limitations: the data are provisional and may change; jurisdictions report at different speeds, which can skew the national picture; and race and ethnicity can be misclassified on death certificates, especially for American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian and Hispanic people.

Sources

• Ahmad FB, Cisewski JA, Xu J, Anderson RN. "Provisional Mortality Data — United States, 2022." MMWR 2023;72(18). The report's illustrated graphic is not reproduced.