Deaths return to average levels between July – September

13,295 deaths were recorded between July and September 2020, representing an increase of 1.2% from the five year average, according to statistics released by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Other findings show that when compared to the five year average, the number of cancer deaths was unchanged at 4,007.  

The number of deaths from coronary heart disease rose by 1.8% to 1,519 and deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease fell by 4.7%  to 1,246.

1,060 deaths were as a result of respiratory diseases, representing a 21% decrease.

There were  880 deaths from cerebrovascular disease (including stroke),  0.2% higher than the five year average.

Julie Ramsay, Vital Events statistician, said:

"These statistics show that deaths returned to broadly average levels over the summer period after the very high levels seen in the spring.

“Deaths as a result of COVID-19 account for 60 of the registered deaths during this period. This is in contrast to the period between April and June, where 3,739 deaths were registered where COVID-19 was the underlying cause.

“There was a small increase in deaths from coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease compared to the average for this time of year while deaths from respiratory diseases and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease decreased.”

Today’s statistics also show that 21,309 births were registered between July and September. However, this figure does not reflect the actual number of births which occurred in this period. Birth registrations were postponed in March and restarted in late June, so many of the postponed registrations took place in quarter 3.

3,789 marriages took place between July and September. This is significantly fewer than the average of 10,647 third quarter marriages for the previous five years.

116 same-sex marriages took place between July and September, compared with an average of 384 for the previous five years. 

22 civil partnerships were registered between July and September, compared to an average of 21 in the same period for the previous five years.

The publication Births, Deaths and other Vital Events - Quarterly Figures and an infographic summary is available on this website.