2020

As at 15th November, 5,135 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 9th to 15th  November, 278 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, representing an increase of 71 deaths from the previous week. 

Just over two-thirds (69%) of those who died in the latest week were aged 75 and over, 12% were aged under 65. 

In the latest week, there were 105 deaths in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 63 in Lanarkshire and 31 in Lothian. 

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 198 deaths, 72 occurred in care homes and 8 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending 15th November was 1,329, 17% higher than the average over the previous five years.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Each statistic represents heartbreak for families across the country who mourn the loss of loved ones as a result of this virus.

“Deaths are not spread equally across the country, with the majority of deaths occurring in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire Health Board areas”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

As at 8 November, a total of 4,856 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 2 - 8 November, 206 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, an increase of 38 from the previous week. 143 deaths were in hospitals; 53 in care homes and 9 were at home or in non-institutional settings.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week 2 – 8 November was 1,238, 12% more than the average over the previous five years.

Updated analysis, covering the period from March-October, on mortality by pre-existing conditions, urban and rural areas, place of death and deprivation has also been published today and show:

• Of those who died with COVID-19 between March and October, 92% had at least one pre-existing condition.  The most common main pre-existing condition was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 30% of all deaths involving COVID-19.
• After adjusting for age, people living in large urban areas were over 4 times as likely to die with COVID-19 as those in remote rural locations.
• West Dunbartonshire had the highest age-standardised death rate of all council areas, followed by Glasgow City, Midlothian and Inverclyde.  

This month’s report also includes an update to the ethnicity analysis first published in July, which covers the same time period (March to mid-June) but includes additional ethnicity data gathered by registrars. It concludes that deaths amongst people of South Asian ethnicity  were more likely to involve COVID-19 than deaths of people with a White Scottish ethnicity. The analysis also concluded that for the other ethnic groups, where an analysis could be performed, there was no evidence that the likelihood of a COVID-19 related death was different to people of a White Scottish ethnicity.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 
“Every death from this virus represents loss and grief for families across the country. 

“The latest analysis continues to show that people living in the most deprived areas were over two times as likely to die with COVID-19 as those living in the least deprived areas. 

 “This month’s analysis includes updated analysis by ethnicity, the results of which are broadly in line with the initial analysis published in July.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland and an infographic summary is available on the NRS website.

As at 1st November, 4,649 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 26th October and 1st November, 167 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, representing an increase of 61 deaths from the previous week. 

Over two-thirds of those who died in the latest week were aged 75 and over, 8% were aged under 65. 

In the latest week, there were 51 deaths in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 51 in Lanarkshire and 18 in Ayrshire and Arran. 

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 127 deaths, 31 occurred in care homes and 9 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending November was 1,255, 16% higher than the average over the previous five years.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“These statistics represent loss and heartbreak for families who have lost loved ones as a result of this virus.

“Today’s figures represent the highest weekly total since late May and signify the fifth weekly increase in a row. 

“At council level, the highest number of deaths occurred in Glasgow City with 34, followed by 29 in North Lanarkshire and 22 in South Lanarkshire.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.
 

As at 25th October, 4,482 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 19th – 25th October, 106 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, representing an increase of 31 deaths from the previous week. 

Two-thirds of those who died in the latest week were aged 75 and over, 15% were aged under 65.

In the latest week, there were 44 deaths in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 20 in Lanarkshire and 14 in Lothian.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 82 deaths, 18 occurred in care homes and 6 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in  the week ending 25th October was 1,170, 11% higher than the average over the previous five years.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“These statistics represent the heartbreak of many families who have lost loved ones as a result of this virus.

“Today’s figures show 106 deaths have been registered as a result of COVID-19 over the last week, representing the highest weekly total since late May. 

“NRS has been closely monitoring the weekly number of deaths. Given the increase in recent weeks, we have produced an additional weekly publication which will sit alongside the updates made to the Scottish Government’s 4 Harms dashboard and the valuable information contained in our detailed monthly publication.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

As at 18th October, 4,376 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 12th – 18th October, 75 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, representing an increase of 50 deaths from the previous week. 

Of these deaths, over three quarters occurred in hospitals representing 58 deaths, 12 occurred in care homes and 5 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in  the week ending 18th October was 1,129, 6% higher than the average over the previous five years.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“These figures represent unimaginable loss, grief and heartbreak for families and communities across Scotland who have lost loved ones due to this virus.

“Today’s figures show 75 deaths involving COVID-19 have been registered over the last week. This is the highest weekly total since the beginning of June, and represents a threefold increase from the 25 deaths registered in the previous week.
 
“NRS will continue to monitor COVID-19 mortality and work with the Scottish Government to understand the impact and spread of the virus in Scotland.”

These latest weekly figures (for week ending 18th October) can be found on the Scottish Government COVID-19 dashboard.

The latest monthly publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland was published on 14th October and is available on the NRS website.

As at 11 October, a total of 4,301 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 5-11 October, 25 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, an increase of 5 from the previous week.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week 5-11 October was 1,065, 1% lower than the average over the previous five years.

Updated analysis, covering the period from March-September, on mortality by deprivation, pre-existing conditions and place of death has also been published today. These key findings remain similar to those published last month, and show

• Adjusting for age, people in the most deprived areas were just over two times as likely to die with COVID-19 than those living in the least deprived areas.
• Of those who died with COVID-19 between March and September, 92% had at least one pre-existing condition.  The most common main pre-existing condition among those who died with COVID-19 was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (31%) followed by ischaemic heart disease (13%).
• Of the COVID-19 deaths registered to date 47% were in hospitals; 46% in care homes and 7% were at home or non-institutional settings.
• After adjusting for age, COVID-19 related death rates were 43% higher for men than for women.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Every death from this virus represents loss and grief for families across the country. 

“Although today’s figures show deaths involving COVID-19 are at a slightly higher level now than in July and August, they are still much lower than at the height of the pandemic.

“The updated analysis shows that over the period of the pandemic, deaths from all causes in care homes were 31% above average, with the number of deaths returning to average levels in recent months.  Over the same period, deaths in home or in non-institutional settings were 44% above average, and have remained above average levels since. After an early peak, hospital deaths fell below average levels  in early May and are now 6% below average levels.

“The analysis also continues to confirm that  that COVID-19 mortality rates are higher for males than for females and are higher in areas of highest deprivation.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland and an infographic summary is available on this website.

Fewer deaths were registered in winter 2019/20, compared with the four months between April to July 2020, for the first time since records began, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland today.

From December 2019 to March 2020, 21,392 deaths were registered in Scotland, the third highest number of winter deaths in the past 20 years. In contrast from April to July 2020, 22,711 deaths were registered. This resulted in a low seasonal increase, caused by the unusually high number of deaths registered in Spring 2020 as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the seasonal increase in mortality in winter 2019/20 is estimated to have been between 2,200 and 3,000, which is much more in line with previous winters.

The main underlying causes for which death rates were higher in winter 2019/20 than the average for other times of the year were: dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases, pneumonia and coronary heart disease. 

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services at NRS said:

“The seasonal increase in mortality can fluctuate greatly from winter to winter, but the long-term trend has tended to be downward. We normally see an increase in the number of deaths registered in winter, compared to any other time of year.

“This year's figures are unusual because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and for the first time more deaths have been registered in April to July than in winter. 

“Looking at the winter mortality figures, we see that only a small number of deaths are directly related to cold weather, for example hypothermia. Similarly influenza is recorded as the underlying cause in only a small proportion of deaths. The majority of the additional deaths in winter are as a result of dementia and Alzheimer’s and respiratory and circulatory diseases.”

The full publication ‘Winter Mortality in Scotland 2019/20’ and an infographic are available on this website.

As at 4th October, 4,276 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 28th September and 4th October, 20 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, representing an increase of 10 deaths from last week. Of these deaths, six occurred in a care homes, 13 in hospitals and one in another institution.

To place these statistics in context,  the total number of all-cause deaths registered  between 28th September to 4th October was 1,188, which is 14% higher than the average over the previous five years.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Every death is a source of grief and heartbreak and represents unimaginable loss for all those who have lost loved ones due to this virus.
 
“The latest figures show that the number of people dying from COVID-19 remains low especially when compared to the peak week in mid-April when 661 COVID-19 related deaths were registered. 

“However, over the last week we have seen the number of deaths increase from 10 to 20. NRS will continue to monitor COVID-19 mortality and work with Scottish Government to understand the impact and spread of the virus in Scotland.”

These latest NRS death statistics can be found on the Scottish Government COVID-19 dashboard.

A report on Scotland’s population shows a number of ‘first on record’ results in 2019, according to statistics produced by National Records of Scotland today.

These include:

• Scotland’s population was at a record high at 5.46 million.
• The lowest number of births were recorded since records began in 1855, with fewer than 50,000 registered. 
• The number of marriages registered was also at an all-time low of just over 26,000.

Other key findings show:

• Deaths have outnumbered births for the 5th consecutive year, meaning the recent population increase is due to migration.
• The number of households is growing faster than the population, with 1 in 5 people now living alone.
• Life expectancy was improving for decades, but has changed very little in the last five years.

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report also provides an analysis of all deaths involving COVID-19 from March to September this year, providing a summary of the spread and impact of the virus in Scotland.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services said:

“This report provides a review of statistics, trends and analysis of Scotland’s population for 2019. Given the impact of COVID-19, we have included the latest analysis of deaths involving COVID-19. Together, these provide a picture of Scotland prior to the pandemic and a summary of the spread and impact of COVID-19 on mortality.

“Today’s report describes how the number of deaths involving COVID-19 increased sharply in the first 6 weeks of the pandemic, before falling again, with numbers remaining very low since July.

“More than three quarters of deaths were among those aged 75 and over, and after taking age into account, people were more likely to die with COVID-19 if they were male, if they lived in an urban area, or lived in a deprived area.

“Alongside this, the statistics highlight a number of firsts for our population in 2019, prior to the pandemic. The population was at its highest, and births and marriages were the lowest ever recorded.

“Understanding Scotland’s population plays an important role in monitoring the impact of COVID-19, and allowing us to analyse the effect of the pandemic.

“NRS will continue to publish regular statistics and analysis on deaths involving COVID-19, as well as monthly numbers of births and deaths. Next spring we will release our first population estimates that take the pandemic into account, and next autumn we will publish the first statistics on how it has affected life expectancy in Scotland.”

The full publication Scotland's Population 2019 - The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends and an infographic overview is available on this website.

The number of households in Scotland is growing at a faster rate than the population with one person households the most common type, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland. 

An increase of 5% in the total number of households is projected by 2028, equivalent to an additional 12,000 households a year. 

Around 140,000 men aged 65 or over are likely to be living alone by 2028, nearly a quarter more than in 2018 and at a more rapid rate of growth than that for women of this age.

Most areas of Scotland are seeing an increase in the number of households,  with Midlothian being the highest at 16%.  Only four areas of the country are projected to show a decrease - Argyll & Bute, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and the Western Isles (Na-h Eileanan Siar). 

Sandy Taylor, Head of Household Statistics says “Scotland’s population is both ageing and increasing – the number of people aged 65 and over is significantly increasing. This is driving a shift towards a larger number of both smaller and older households, with those of someone aged 85 or over likely to increase by just over 20% in the period to 2028.”

The full publication ‘2018-based Household projections for Scotland’ and an infographic overview and interactive visualisations are available on this website.