3 min readAug 11, 2026 12:28 PM IST
First published on: Aug 11, 2026 at 12:28 PM IST
Heart disease remained the biggest killer among medically certified deaths in Maharashtra in 2024. But the state’s mortality profile also throws up another concern: cancer, metabolic diseases and injuries accounted for a substantially larger share of deaths in Maharashtra than they did across India.
Of the 3,27,174 deaths medically certified in Maharashtra in 2024, diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 30.8 per cent, or 1,00,878 deaths. Nationally, however, circulatory diseases accounted for a much larger 38.8 per cent of medically certified deaths according to data released by the Office of Registrar General of India (ORGI) last month.
The sharpest difference was seen in cancer, which accounted for 8.1 per cent of medically certified deaths in Maharashtra, with 26,492 deaths, compared with 5 per cent nationally.
Metabolic diseases, including diabetes and related conditions, accounted for another 7.5 per cent of deaths in the state, or 24,462 cases. The corresponding national share was 4 per cent.
The state also recorded a higher share of deaths from injuries, poisoning and other external causes. They accounted for 5.5 per cent of medically certified deaths in Maharashtra, or 18,061 deaths, against 4.1 per cent nationally.
Maharashtra’s 2024 Mortality Data (Image generated using Gemini)
Respiratory diseases were the second largest category in Maharashtra, accounting for 9.8 per cent of medically certified deaths, or 32,133 cases. The national share was 11 per cent.
Infectious and parasitic diseases, meanwhile, accounted for 6.7 per cent of deaths in Maharashtra, or 21,807 cases, lower than the national share of 8.3 per cent.
The figures point to a mortality pattern in Maharashtra that differs in important ways from the national picture. The state has a lower proportion of certified deaths from circulatory and infectious diseases, but higher proportions from cancer, metabolic disorders and external causes.
There is, however, an important limitation to the data. MCCD figures cover only deaths for which the cause has been medically certified and do not represent all deaths registered in the state.
Maharashtra recorded 7,39,124 registered deaths under the Civil Registration System in 2024. Of these, 3,27,174 were medically certified, giving the state an overall medical certification rate of 44.3 per cent. The rate has risen from 39.3 per cent in 2022 and 42.4 per cent in 2023.
Maharashtra’s certification rate was also substantially higher than the national average of 23.1 per cent. Among deaths of people who had received medical attention during their terminal illness, the state reported 100 per cent medical certification.
This distinction is important in reading the cause-of-death figures. The Civil Registration System establishes that a death occurred, while the Medical Certification of Cause of Death provides a medically certified explanation of what caused it.
Maharashtra recorded 7,39,124 registered deaths under the Civil Registration System in 2024. (Representational image from Unsplash) 
Maharashtra’s 2024 Mortality Data (Image generated using Gemini)
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