Cancer accounted for 33% of all deaths in the Netherlands last year, making it the country’s biggest killer, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

Of the 43,000 cancer deaths, 23,000 were men and 20,000 women.

The total number of cancer deaths was up from 41,000 in 2014.

Heart and artery disease accounted for 38,000 deaths, a quarter of the total and a slight decrease since 2014.

The number of people dying from dementia and strokes increased but there was a reduction in lung disease deaths, the CBS said.