Here are some figures, from Canada

The high cost of dying has more to do with soaring health care costs than the aging population does, according to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

In its submission to the Romanow commission on the future of health care, the institute said that 30 to 50 per cent of total lifetime health care expenditures occur in the last six months of life. Noting the sensitivity of the subject, the group suggested greater use of less expensive palliative care and living wills.