2022

As at 9 October 2022, 15,817 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS).

In the week to 9 October, 36 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, nine fewer than in the previous week. 

There were six deaths in South Lanarkshire, and four deaths in both Glasgow City and City of Edinburgh. In total, 15 council areas (out of 32) had at least one death involving COVID-19 last week.

26 were in hospitals, six were in care homes, and four were at home or in a non-institutional setting.  20 deaths were female and 16 were male.

Our monthly analysis shows that the age-standardised rate of COVID-related deaths was lower in September 2022 (35 per 100,000) compared to August 2022 (46 per 100,000). Throughout the pandemic, the highest rate of COVID-related deaths was 585 per 100,000 people in April 2020. 

Of the 15,794 deaths involving COVID-19 between March 2020 and September 2022, 93% (14,750) had at least one pre-existing condition, with the most common being dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. 

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said:

“The latest figures show that last week there were 36 deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This is nine fewer than in the previous week.

“People living in the most deprived areas were 2.4 times as likely to die with COVID-19 as those in the least deprived areas. The size of this gap slowly widened over the period of the pandemic but has narrowed since January 2022, when the gap was 2.5.

“The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,275, which is 165, or 15%, more than the five year average.”

There have been nine deaths in Scotland in which the underlying cause of death was due to the adverse effects of vaccination against COVID-19, and four further deaths where an adverse effect was mentioned on the death certificate. By 30 September 2022, statistics from Public Health Scotland state that 4.4 million people had been given at least one vaccine dose.

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

This news release has been corrected. An earlier version said that the number of deaths involving COVID-19 vaccines increased by two last month. There was no increase last month. We apologise for this confusion.

Background

We update the weekly COVID-19 death information in our data and charts spreadsheet and publish a full report and news release on a monthly basis. 

NRS figures include deaths where ‘suspected’ or ‘probable’ COVID-19 appears on the death certificate. 

Data are provisional and subject to change in future weekly publications. The 2022 data will be finalised in summer 2023.

Media enquiries should be directed to:
Donna Green
NRS Communications
Tel: 07775-027-380
Email: [email protected]   

Further information about the statistics is available from:
NRS Customer Services
Email: [email protected]  

The Registrar General for Scotland, Paul Lowe, confirmed that Her Majesty The Queen’s death was registered in Aberdeenshire on 16^th September 2022.

National Records of Scotland has today published an extract from Her Majesty The Queen’s entry in the Register of Deaths. An official extract of an entry in the Register of Deaths can also be referred to as a death certificate.

To request an extract, please contact Aberdeenshire Council.

Background:

An extract of the register entry is provided to family members or other informants at the time of registration or to those who request copies from registration offices. The official term is an extract of an entry in a Register of Deaths, but can be commonly referred to as a death certificate.

Please note that extracts from the Register of Deaths are subject to Crown copyright and may only be used or reproduced in accordance with our terms and conditions. Copyright and Disclaimer | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk).

You must also comply with your obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 and the Human Rights Act 1998 when handling or publishing personal data about any living individuals.

As at 18 September 2022, 15,702 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS).

In the week 12 to 18 September, 40 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, the same as in the previous week. 

30 deaths were aged 75 or older, four were aged 65 to 74, and six were under 65. 15 were female and 25 were male.

There were five deaths in West Lothian, and four deaths in both Fife and Perth and Kinross. In total, 19 council areas (out of 32) had at least one death involving COVID-19 last week.

31 were in hospitals, six were in care homes, and three were at home or a non-institutional setting.

Our monthly analysis shows that the age-standardised rate of COVID-related deaths was lower in August 2022 (45 per 100,000) compared to July 2022 (79 per 100,000) Throughout the pandemic, the highest rate of COVID-related deaths was 585 per 100,000 people in April 2020. 

Of the 15,632 deaths involving COVID-19 between March 2020 and August 2022, 93% (14,593) had at least one pre-existing condition, with the most common being dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. 

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said:

“The latest figures show that last week there were 40 deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This is the same as in the previous week.

“People living in the most deprived areas were 2.4 times as likely to die with COVID-19 as those in the least deprived areas. The size of this gap slowly widened over the period of the pandemic but has narrowed since January 2022, when the gap was 2.5.

“The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,127, which is 65, or 6%, more than the five year average.”

There have been nine deaths in Scotland in which the underlying cause of death was due to the adverse effects of vaccination against COVID-19, and four further deaths where an adverse effect was mentioned on the death certificate. This is no change from the figures reported last month. By 31 August 2022, statistics from Public Health Scotland state that 4.4 million people had been given at least one vaccine dose.

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

Background:

1. We update the weekly COVID-19 death information in our data and charts spreadsheet and publish a full report and news release on a monthly basis. 
2. NRS figures include deaths where ‘suspected’ or ‘probable’ COVID-19 appears on the death certificate. 
3. Data are provisional and subject to change in future weekly publications. The 2022 data will be finalised in summer 2023.

Media enquiries should be directed to:
Donna Green
NRS Communications
Tel: 07775-027-380
Email: [email protected]

Further information about the statistics is available from:
NRS Customer Services
Email: [email protected]

Life expectancy at birth in Scotland fell in the latest year, with the average life expectancy at birth for males being 76.6 years and 80.8 years for females, according to statistics published today by National Records of Scotland. 

The figures for 2019-2021 continue the decrease of the previous year, which was the sharpest fall since 1980-1982. 

Deprivation continues to have an impact on life expectancy. In the most deprived areas of Scotland, average male life expectancy was 13.7 years lower than in the least deprived areas. For females the difference was 10.5 years. This gap has become wider in recent years and Scotland has the lowest life expectancy of all UK countries.

Life expectancy was highest in Orkney Islands and lowest in Glasgow city for both males and females in 2019-2021, and most of Scotland’s council areas have seen life expectancy fall over the last few years. Life expectancy was higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

Julie Ramsay, Head of Vital Events Statistics at NRS, said:

"Life expectancy has decreased by more than 11 weeks for males and almost 8 weeks for females since 2018-2020.

"Our analysis shows that COVID-19 deaths accounted for the vast majority of the fall in life expectancy for both males and females. 

Background:

1. National Records of Scotland (NRS) is a non-ministerial department of the     devolved Scottish Administration. It is responsible for producing statistics on Scotland’s population. 
2. Life Expectancy in Scotland, 2019-2021 can be accessed on this website. The ONS publication for the UK can be found on the ONS website
3. Data on estimates of Healthy Life Expectancy will be released in December 2022. 
    

Media enquiries should be directed to:  
Donna Green - 07775-027-380
Email: [email protected]

Further information about the statistics is available from:
NRS Customer Services
Email: [email protected]
 

The estimated number of people aged 100 or older has passed the 1,000 mark in Scotland for the first time, according to new figures from National Records of Scotland.

The latest figures show that as at June 2021 there were 1,040 people who had reached their centenary, an increase of 16% in the year to mid-2021.

Esther Roughsedge, Head of Population and Migration Statistics, said:

“The number of people in the oldest age groups has been steadily increasing. This latest increase reflects the baby boom that happened in the years after World War One. The majority of people aged 100 or older are female. Four times more females than males reached this milestone - 820 females compared to 220 males - reflecting the longer life expectancy of females.”

Background Notes:

There is no register of centenarians, so the figures are estimates based on population information rolled forward from the 2011 Census. Therefore we do not know who the oldest person in Scotland is.

The estimates relate to the population as at 30 June (mid-year estimates). 

NRS uses ‘age at death’ data to build up a profile of the number of people aged 90 and over in Scotland. For example, if someone died in 2019 aged 105, it would mean that they were alive and aged 104 in 2018 and 103 in 2017 etc. By collating ‘age at death’ data, the estimates for earlier years become more accurate as more death records are available to inform these age profiles. Further information on the methodology used to estimate the number of people aged 90 and over, including centenarians, is available on the NRS website.

The full report, “Population Estimates for Centenarians in Scotland: Mid-2021” is available in the Centenarians section of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) website.

Media enquiries should be directed to:
Donna Green
NRS Communications
Tel: 07775 027 380 
Email: [email protected]

Further information about the statistics is available from:
NRS Customer Services
Email: [email protected]

The number of people who died between April and June of this year was almost 10% higher than the average for the second quarter, according to a new report from National Records of Scotland. 

There were 14,982 deaths between April and June this year; the number of deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease increased by over 7%, coronary heart disease rose by almost 3% and cancer by 0.6%. The number of deaths from respiratory illness fell by 7%. Covid-19 was the underlying cause of death for 545 people.

The number of stillbirths (36) was down by 17% on the quarter 2 average and the number of infant deaths (46) increased by 12%.

Julie Ramsay, Vital Events Statistician at National Records of Scotland, said: 

“In this quarter we have seen an increase of almost 10% in the number of deaths compared with the average for this time of year. There doesn’t appear to be a single factor behind this increase. Analysis of the causes of death show an increase across a wide range of illnesses and other causes.

“The report also shows 9,331 couples tied the knot in Scotland, this is the highest figure for April to June since 1993, representing an increase of 26% on the five year average.”

Meanwhile there were 11,237 births, down 11.5% on the five year average for April to June. This continues the period of negative natural change, where the number of deaths outnumbers the number of births, which began in quarter one of 2015. 

There were also 157 civil partnerships, 135 of which were for mixed sex couples who have been able to choose this option since June last year. 

Background

1) Comparisons are usually made by comparing the current year to the average of the previous five years.  For 2022, standard practice would be to compare against the 2017-2021 average.  However, as the 2020 figures were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic – marriages were much lower than usual, deaths were higher, and registration of births was delayed – comparing 2022 figure to the 2017-2021 average would not give a true reflection of how the latest quarter’s figures compare to the average.  Comparisons have therefore been made against the average of the five years 2016-2019 plus 2021.

2) The report and associated data are available on our website.

Contact: 

Susie Rose on 07500 563542 or [email protected] 

Following the passing of Her Majesty, The Queen, NRS buildings will remain open and on site services will continue.

Customers should plan ahead for any journeys and stay informed of the latest travel updates.

A study of almost 7,000 small geographic areas in Scotland has revealed more detail about population changes during the pandemic. 

In July NRS revealed that in the year to the middle of 2021, Scotland’s largest cities saw their populations fall while some rural areas saw their populations rise, reversing long-term trends.

Its new report, Small Area Population Estimates Mid-2021, looks beneath local authority level at thousands of “data zones” to uncover more detail. The report includes analysis using the Scottish Government’s Urban Rural classification.  

Over the last year, the number of people living in large urban areas has fallen by 5,600 (-0.3%). This marks a change from previous years. In contrast, the populations of rural areas, small towns, and other urban areas have either increased or fallen more slowly than the previous year. In particular, accessible and remote rural areas had the largest increases over the last year, increasing by 13,200 (2.0%) and 4,700 (1.6%), respectively.

Most people still live in large urban areas (38%) and other urban areas (34%). 

NRS statistician Esther Roughsedge said: 

“The population of small geographical areas changes over time for many reasons, including births and deaths as well as migration inwards and outwards.” 
 
“Every council area has pockets of population growth and decline. In the latest year, the largest proportions of data zones increasing in population were mainly in rural and island council areas. This is quite different to the patterns we saw the previous year.”

The publication Mid-2021 Small Area Population Estimates Scotland is available to download.

NRS has also created an interactive visualisation tool for quick access to data on individual data zones around Scotland, and an interactive map to view how the population varies across Scotland. 

Background 

Data zones are a set of small areas that cover the whole of Scotland, and can be used to understand the population of local communities. In mid-2021, the average data zone population in Scotland was 786 people. 

Media enquiries should be directed to:
    Donna Green 
    NRS Communications
    Tel: 07775-027-380
    Email: [email protected]

Further information about the statistics is available from:
    NRS Customer Services
    Email: [email protected]

The extent of the mortality deprivation gap and other types of health inequality are highlighted in a new report from National Records of Scotland. 

Data from ‘Scotland’s Population 2021’ shows the different outcomes that people face depending on their age, ethnicity, sex or experience of deprivation, and where the gaps are largest. 

The short report also looks at how existing health inequalities have been reflected in Covid-19 deaths, with older people who tend to have pre-existing health conditions more likely to die than younger people. 

People with disabilities have also been more likely to die with COVID-19. In particular, those whose daily activities were significantly limited by their disability were around three times as likely to die with COVID-19 compared with those whose activities were not limited.

Julie Ramsay, statistician and Head of Vital Events for NRS, said: “Mortality rates are about twice as high in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived. But for some specific causes of death, we see much larger inequalities. For example, people in the most deprived areas of Scotland are more than 15 times as likely to die from drug misuse as those in the least deprived areas.

“That ratio has increased over the past two decades. In the early 2000s, those in the most deprived areas were around 10 times as likely to have a drug misuse death as those in the least deprived areas. In the last year, the gap has narrowed slightly.”
Scotland’s Population 2021 also touches on population change. If past trends continue, it is projected that by 2045, Scotland will have a smaller and older population. Growth from migration would no longer offset the growing gap between births and deaths. 

This report has been produced annually for 160 years and provides invaluable statistics to describe and provide further insights into how Scotland’s population is changing and some of the key challenges we face. It provides a unique opportunity for NRS to look at themes across all its reports.  These statistics play a vital role in supporting key policy and funding decisions, and informing broader public debate.

The report is available to read on this website.
 

Thousands of items from the family archive of former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour (1848-1930) have been bought by National Records of Scotland (NRS), on behalf of the nation.

Balfour was the Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary, he was one of the principal British delegates at the Versailles peace conference in 1919, which negotiated the peace treaty following World War I. He is best known as the author of the 1917 Balfour Declaration conferring British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

The Balfour family was very well-connected in scientific, artistic and political circles. Several family members were closely involved with the women’s suffrage movement, perhaps most notably Lady Frances Balfour (1858-1931), sister-in-law of the 1st and 2nd earls of Balfour.

Dr Alan Borthwick, Head of Private Records for National Records of Scotland, said:

“This collection offers a remarkable insight into life in a family whose influence stretched around the world; revealing them at home, at work and at play. We are pleased to have secured this collection, which includes items from 1577 to 1956, for the nation.”

Culture Minister Neil Gray said:

“This purchase safeguards a remarkable collection which offers insights into the life of an influential Scottish family over a huge period of history.

“The public ownership of the Balfour archive not only ensures that it is preserved whole and in Scotland forever, but that the public and researchers have the opportunity to see and study it.

“I look forward to finding out more about the highlights in this collection once National Records of Scotland have carried out further detailed research on its content.”

Michael Brander and Lord Balfour, speaking on behalf of the family, said:

“Our forebear, Arthur James Balfour, was at the centre of many pivotal events over his remarkable life and the dilemmas he faced, including Irish home rule, free trade and unwarranted aggression in Europe, still resonate today. We are delighted that his papers have found a permanent home at the National Records of Scotland for future scholarship.”

Image: GD433_2_462_6 - Photograph showing A J Balfour and David Lloyd George, at Whittingehame House, Haddington, 29 October 1922