1. Main Points

This is the first publication of Deaths of Homeless People in Northern Ireland and this edition covers calendar years 2020 to 2024.

  • There were an estimated 58 registered deaths of people experiencing homelessness in Northern Ireland in 2024, which was the same as 2023. This shows a decrease in comparison to the first year for which data is available (2020, 67).
  • Belfast local government district had the highest estimated number of homeless deaths in 2024 (20).
  • The estimated death rate of all homeless deaths in Northern Ireland in 2024 was 4.11 per 100,000 of population aged 15 to 74.
  • Across the 11 local government districts, the estimated mortality rate was highest in Derry City & Strabane (11.41 per 100,000 of population aged 15 to 74).
  • In 2024, 74.1% of homeless deaths were male and 25.9% were female.
  • In 2024, just under half (46.6%) of estimated homeless deaths among all persons were under the age of 45. In contrast, 11.0% of all registered deaths for persons aged 15 to 74 were under the age of 45.
  • When looking at selected specific causes of deaths of people experiencing homelessness, drug-related causes were the most common, accounting for an estimated 27.6% of all homeless deaths in 2024 and 25.9% in 2023. For context, for all deaths in Northern Ireland in 2023 the most recent year for which data has been published, drug-related deaths accounted for 3% of the total.

These new estimates have been derived using a specific methodology and a definition of homelessness which seeks to identify individuals based on the circumstances at the time of their death rather than whether they were statutorily homeless or not.

The identification of homeless people for the purpose of these statistics is not based on an existing definition of homelessness but is based on the ability to identify such individuals within the death registration records. The records identified are mainly those people using emergency accommodation such as homeless shelters, hostels, and temporary homeless accommodation at the time of their death. Addresses for such accommodation was provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) and identified death registrations were quality assured by NIHE staff supporting the development of these statistics.

Deaths are assigned to a local government district based on the address of usual residence or (if no usual residence is recorded) the place of death.

Estimates of homeless deaths in other parts of the UK are not comparable with those for Northern Ireland.

2. Introduction

This report provides official statistics in development on estimated deaths of people experiencing homelessness in Northern Ireland. Figures are provided for deaths registered for the calendar years 2020 to 2024, with breakdowns by sex, age group, local government district, and cause of death. These breakdowns of all deaths and population include only ages 15 to 74, to ensure comparability with the homeless deaths methodology which also covers this age range.

Figures in this report are shown for both identified deaths and estimated deaths based on the year of registration, unless stated otherwise - because of death registration delays, some of these deaths occurred in previous years. While overall totals are accurate, breakdowns by geography, age, and sex may not sum exactly due to rounding.

Deaths of homeless people were identified from death registration records and supported by data quality assurance by NIHE. A statistical method called capture-recapture modelling was used to estimate the likely number of additional deaths which could not be identified from available sources.

More information can be found in the methodology report(opens in new tab)🔗 .

To date, there has been no official publication of data relating to homeless deaths in Northern Ireland. While NIHE did previously publish figures, these are not comparable with this report.

Feedback is invited from users and stakeholders. When interpreting the statistics, users should be aware of methodology limitations and read the methodology section for details on how they have been developed.

2.1. Why do we use a statistical model to estimate homeless deaths?

Identifying whether a person was homeless when they died is not straightforward using the information recorded at death registration. There is no specific question on the death certificate asking if a person was homeless at the time of death. Using a statistical model goes some way to mitigating for a potential under count, for what the search strategies may not have captured. For more details see the methodology report(opens in new tab)🔗 .

3. Homeless Deaths in Northern Ireland

Of the total estimated 58 homeless deaths in 2024:

  • 50 were identified from death registration records.
  • The additional 8 were estimated using the statistical model.

While the identified number of deaths of homeless people increased from 45 in 2023 to 50 in 2024, the estimated total was the same in both years (58).

The 95% confidence interval around the estimated number of homeless deaths was +/- (9.4). This means the true number of homeless deaths is likely to be within the range of (48.4) to (67.2).

In 2024, the estimated number of homeless deaths accounted for 0.9% of all deaths registered (of those aged between 15 and 74).

Figure 1: Homeless Deaths in Northern Ireland, 2020 to 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations

4. Homeless Deaths by Sex and Age Group

The majority of estimated homeless deaths in 2024 were males with a total of 43 deaths.

  • 74.1% were males
  • 25.9% were females

In 2024, just under half (46.6%) of all homeless deaths were people aged under 45, with a total of 27 estimated deaths. In terms of sex, the most common age group for males was 25-34, while the smaller estimated number of females deaths were spread more evenly across age groups.


Figure 2: Estimated Homeless Deaths by Sex and Age in Northern Ireland, 2024

Please note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations

5. Homeless Deaths by Local Government District

The chart below presents the estimated rates of homeless deaths per 100,000 population aged between 15 and 74 years of age.

These rates are based on the total population aged 15 to 74 in each local authority. These are also not age-standardised mortality rates.

The estimated rate of all homeless deaths in Northern Ireland in 2024 was 4.11 per 100,000 population. Across the 11 local government districts, this estimated rate was highest in Derry City & Strabane (11.41), followed by Mid & East Antrim (7.92) and Belfast (7.37).


Figure 3: Estimated homeless deaths - mortality rates per 100,000 by Local Government District, 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations


It is important to note that geographical information is based on the usual address of the deceased, or in the absence of this it is based on location of death. It is possible that usual address and place of death fall into different districts.

6. Homeless Deaths by Health and Social Care Trust

The chart below presents the estimated rates of homeless deaths per 100,000 population aged between 15 and 74 years of age.

These rates are based on the total population aged 15 to 74 in each health trust. These are also not age-standardised mortality rates.

Across the five Health and Social Care Trusts, this estimated rate was highest in Western (7.39) and was lowest in South Eastern (1.73).

Figure 4: Estimated homeless deaths - mortality rates per 100,000 by Health and Social Care Trust, 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations


It is important to note that geographical information is based on the usual address of the deceased, or in the absence of this it is based on location of death. It is possible that usual address and place of death fall into different districts.

7. Homeless Deaths by Cause of Death

7.1 Homeless Deaths in Northern Ireland by Leading Cause of Death

The leading causes of deaths groupings below are based on a list developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This categorises causes of death using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) into groups that are epidemiologically more meaningful than single ICD-10 codes, for the purpose of comparing the most common causes of death in the population. The leading causes of homeless deaths in 2024 were:

  • Accidents, suicides and deaths of undetermined intent which accounted for 37.9% of homeless deaths, compared to 7.5% of all deaths in 2024.
  • Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver accounted for 10.3% of homeless deaths, compared to 5.2% of all deaths in 2024.

Figure 5a: Leading Causes of Homeless Deaths, 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations


The leading cause of death for all deaths registered in 2024 was ischaemic heart diseases (conditions that reduce bloodflow to the heart) which accounted for 10.3% of deaths registered, followed by accidents, suicides and deaths of undetermined intent which accounted for 7.5% of deaths registered.

Figure 5b: Leading Causes of All Registered Deaths, 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations


7.2 Homeless Deaths in Northern Ireland by Specific Causes of Death

Looking specifically at drug-related, alcohol-specific and suicide deaths, drug-related deaths accounted for an estimated 27.6% of all homeless deaths in 2024. Alcohol-specific causes accounted for an estimated 15.5% of all homeless deaths, while suicide accounted for an estimated 1.7% of homeless deaths in 2024.

It is important to note that there can be overlaps between suicides, alcohol-specific and drug-related deaths as a single death may be classified under more than one category. For this reason, when interpreting these statistics, the categories should not be added together as some deaths may appear in more than one category.

Figure 6: Homeless Deaths in Northern Ireland by select cause of death, 2020 to 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations

8. Identified Homeless Deaths by Median Age and Sex

The median age of identified homeless deaths is younger for both males and females than the median age for all deaths. In 2024, the median age of identified homeless deaths was 43 for males and 49 for females. The median age of all deaths registered in 2024 was 64 for males and 65 for females.

Since 2020, the year for which data is first available, the lowest median age for identified homeless deaths was 43 years for males in 2024, and 36 years for females in 2023. Over the same period, for all deaths, the median age of death has been more consistent and higher - 64 for males and 65 for females.

Figure 7: Median Age of Identified Homeless Deaths by Sex, 2020 to 2024

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Homeless Death Registrations

9. Comparison with the rest of the UK

Estimates of homeless deaths in other parts of the UK are not comparable with those for Northern Ireland.

An article(opens in new tab) 🔗 exploring the different sources of data used to estimate homeless deaths across the UK has been jointly produced by NISRA, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Homeless Coherence Team. This concluded that estimates were not produced on a comparable basis across the UK.

NISRA engages regularly with the NIHE throughout the process of estimating homeless deaths. Data of temporary accommodation is collected directly from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and extensive data quality assurance is carried out in partnership. This methodology and process is likely to identify proportionately more homeless deaths than in other parts of the UK, therefore the estimates for Northern Ireland are not comparable with those for the rest of the UK countries.

10. Methodology

The information recorded at death registration does not clearly indicate whether an individual was homeless at the time of their death. Therefore, a number of search strategies were carried out on both place of death and usual addresses. This included a matching process between the General Register Office death registration information and a list of addresses from the NIHE, which are used to provide accommodation for homeless people. These address searches alone are not guaranteed to capture an accurate estimate of homeless deaths, due to a potential under count and overlap between searches. Therefore, an estimation of homeless deaths was carried out using the Rcapture package in the R programming language. More information on this methodology and the limitations of these statistics can be found on the NISRA website(opens in new tab)🔗 .

11. User Engagement

NISRA is keen to receive your feedback to enable us to develop further.
- Is this something you find useful?
- Are there alternative or additional indicators you would like to see included?

Any feedback you may have which you can provide through our online survey at the link below:
Vital Statistics User Survey

Please e-mail comments to demography@nisra.gov.uk.

NISRA Vital Statistics Unit
Colby House
Stranmillis Court
Belfast
BT9 5RR
Telephone: +44 (0)300 200 7836