A growing share of deaths in Canada are from euthanasia, but the vast majority are for terminal illnesses, according to new government figures.

More than 15,000 people received medical assistance in dying in Canada in 2023, the highest figure on record. But federal statistics show the growth in cases has slowed significantly, with assisted death making up 4.7% of deaths, compared to 4.1% the previous year.

In both 2023 and 2022, roughly 96% of cases were those with a terminal condition, with cancer cited as the most common reason for accessing assisted death. The median age of someone requesting euthanasia is 78.

Canada is among a few countries that have introduced assisted dying laws in recent years, alongside Austria, Australia and Spain. The United Kingdom recently passed legislation on the issue.

While medically assisted death in Canada is only legal for people on the basis of a physical health condition, the government is considering possibly expanding eligibility to include advanced requests, which would permit people with conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia to request their deaths before the effects of the illness set in.

Assisted death for those suffering from mental illness is also expected to be permitted by 2027, after years of delay.

In its fifth annual report on assisted dying, Health Canada found that the 15,343 people who received help to die last year represented a 15.8% increase from 2022, showing that growth had halved from an average annual growth rate of 31% from 2019 to 2022.

The report cautioned the federal health agency cannot draw “reliable conclusions” about whether the slower increase in demand indicates a “stabilization” of the number of cases over the long term.

Separately, Statistics Canada said overall deaths in the country dropped to 326,571 in 2023, a 2.4% decrease from the prior year. Cancer remains the most common cause of death. These preliminary figures suggest doctor-assisted deaths are not adding new deaths overall, but are instead supplanting deaths that would have likely been attributable to terminal illness.