In 1999 there were 143,210 deaths; 34,255 (24.4%) were from cancer, the second highest cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. Around 20% of deaths occurred at home.¹³⁷ In 2003, 132,833 people died in Hungary; 33,537 of these people died of cancer.¹³⁸ In 2006, there were 135,732 deaths in Hungary, of which 30,615 were due to cancer. An estimated 4,130 patients received palliative care in Hungary during 2006,¹³⁹ with the duration of hospice care averaging approximately 30 days.¹⁴⁰

Rates for ischaemic heart disease remain high at 25.7 deaths per 1,000 population. Deaths from chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis also remain high at 6.2 deaths per 1,000 population; this compares with an average figure of 1.5 in the European Union.¹⁴¹

In Hungary, an aging process of society can be observed, although it nevertheless progresses markedly slower than in Western Europe and also in comparison with some countries in Eastern Europe.¹⁴² The WHO World Health Report (2006) indicates a life expectancy at birth of 69 years for males; 77 years for females (Table 4). Healthy life expectancy is 61.5 years for males; 68.2 years for females.¹⁴³ By 2050 the average age is expected to rise to 79.3 years.¹⁴⁴ Compared to the Western European population, the Hungarian population is in poor physical condition, and the quota of deaths from cancer is also the highest in relation to other countries of Eastern Europe or Central Asia.¹⁴⁵ The comparatively low life expectancy can therefore be ascribed to Hungary having the highest cancer rates Europe-wide.¹⁴⁶

Table 4: Population life expectancy at birth, Central and Eastern Europe (2004)

Source: WHO World Health Report 2006

The adult mortality rate¹⁴⁷ in 2005 is reported as 256/1000 population for males and 107/1000 for females.¹⁴⁸

In 2006, UNAIDS reports:

‘The epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia continue to grow and are affecting ever-larger parts of societies in this region. The number of people living with HIV in this region reached an estimated 1.6 million in 2005 - an increase of almost twenty-fold in less than ten years. AIDS claimed almost twice as many lives in 2005, compared with 2003, and killed an estimated 62,000 adults and children. Some 270,000 people were newly infected with HIV in the past year. The overwhelming majority of people living with HIV in this region are young; 75% of the reported infections between 2000 and 2004 were in people younger than 30 years (in Western Europe, the corresponding figure was 33%).’¹⁴⁹

UNAIDS also specifically highlight the increase in HIV infections in Hungary:

‘By the end of 2004, there had been 1175 HIV cases reported in Hungary, in which 471 people were reported to have developed AIDS, including 266 who died. In the year 2004 itself, there were reported 71 new HIV cases, 22 new AIDS cases and nine AIDS deaths. The incidence of AIDS cases is relatively low and stable. Recent reductions in AIDS death are due to the introduction of HAART in the country. Eighty-one per cent of the AIDS cases registered through the end of 2003 were among MSM and 0.5% in IDUs. Similarly, most reported HIV infections in Hungary have been among MSM and heterosexual women, with relatively fewer cases amongst IDUs (approximately 2%). A closer analysis of heterosexual cases reveals that in 2002-2003, 32% were imported from countries with generalized HIV epidemics’¹⁵⁰

There are very few HIV/AIDS patients in Hungary; people diagnosed with the disease are treated in a special HIV/AIDS Centre in Budapest that does not have any connection with mainstream palliative care services;¹⁵¹ although they are accepted in Budapest Hospice House if requested.¹⁵²