Alcohol-specific deaths remain high

The number of alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland remains the highest since 2008, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland.  

In total, 1,277 deaths were attributed to alcohol-specific causes in 2023, an increase of one death from 2022. 

Male deaths continue to account for around two thirds of the deaths, increasing by 25, while female deaths decreased by 24. 

Phillipa Haxton, Head of Vital Events Statistics, said:

“The rate of alcohol-specific deaths peaked in 2006 and then fell until 2012. Since then it has generally risen. 

“Those aged 45-64 and 65-74 continue to have the highest mortality rates. If we look at the average age at death, that has risen over time. The mortality rates for those aged 65 to 74, and 75 and over, were at their highest since we began recording these figures in 1994. As the same time for age 25-44 the mortality rate has been fairly stable over the last decade.” 

Alcohol-specific deaths were 4.5 times as high in the most deprived areas of Scotland compared to the least deprived areas in 2023.

After adjusting for age, the alcohol-specific mortality rate was higher than the Scottish average in the council areas of Inverclyde, Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire, and Dundee City.

Scotland continued to have the highest alcohol-specific death rate of the UK constituent countries in 2022 (the latest year for which comparable data exists). Data for the rest of the UK is yet to be released for 2023. The difference between Scotland and the other UK countries has narrowed over the last two decades. In 2001, the alcohol-specific mortality rate for Scotland was between 2.1 and 2.9 times as high as other UK countries. The rate for Scotland was between 1.2 and 1.6 times as high in 2022.

Background

The National Records of Scotland is responsible for producing statistics on Scotland’s population. 

The publication Alcohol-specific Deaths 2023 is available on our website.

Population estimates for 2022, as well as rebased population estimates for 2011 to 2021 were published earlier this year. Rates for the relevant years have been updated to reflect these new population estimates and may therefore differ from those previously published.

As a non-ministerial department, all statistics produced by National Records of Scotland are produced by professionally independent statistical staff. These statistics are designated as Accredited Official Statistics. All Accredited Official Statistics publications comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Media enquiries should be directed to:

Donna Green
NRS Communications
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