Using the electronic population register maintained by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the report shows that it is possible to obtain rapid provisional estimates of the number of deaths among South Africans and permanent residents. The report gives details about the recorded deaths over the period 1997-2000 and provides breakdowns of these deaths by sex, age and province and district of death. Over this period, the age profile of deaths changed nationally with more deaths occurring in the young adult ages. In some provinces, the male-female difference in number of deaths narrowed considerably. The two provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng recorded the highest number of deaths.