The data are from a new platform launched in November by the Directorate-General for Health - “The Mortality Dashboard”, which has centralized information on deaths in Portugal, allowing cross-checking various indicators and obtaining, for example, the specific causes of death.

The last year with data available so far is 2017, when in terms of premature mortality there were 23,306 deaths in people under 70, over 20 percent of total mortality, which is in line with numbers recorded since 2014.

This absolute death toll represents a death rate of 2.67 per 1,000 people within the 70-year-old group.

Of the more than 23,000 premature deaths, the largest number of cases are cancer diseases (over 5,600), followed by other diseases or circulatory system problems.

In the group of people up to 70 years old, the diseases attributed to mental health in 2017 accounted for about 2,100 deaths: 1,450 due to diseases caused by excessive alcohol consumption and 723 due to suicide.

Premature mortality affects more men than women, with a rate of 3.7 in 1,000 for males and 1.7 in females.

Data for the year 2018 are yet to be compiled for some time, according to the journalists responsible for the information and analysis division of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

This mortality tool allows cross-checking data to answer questions such as “what kills most in Portugal” or “how does the neonatal mortality rate vary with the duration of pregnancy or birth weight”.

The platform integrates data from the National Institute of Statistics and the death certificate information system.

Following this first platform with mortality data, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) plans to launch other similar tools for other areas, such as respiratory diseases, diabetes and the National Health Plan, as the Director-General Health, Graça Freitas, told reporters.