Introduction

The accuracy and timeliness of mortality statistics are essential for public health planning, policy-making, and understanding trends in causes of death. In Northern Ireland, the process of compiling death statistics follows a structured pathway from certification by a doctor or coroner, through registration, coding, and statistical calculation, to final reporting. Each stage in this chain is dependent on the one before it, meaning a lag at any point particularly at the registration stage can have a significant impact on how quickly mortality data are available.

Impact of Time Taken to Investigate Death

Death statistics are published by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) as the number of deaths registered within a calendar year, as opposed to the number of deaths that actually occurred in that period. This method ensures timely data that is complete at the point of publication, but introduces a limitation to the statistics within a policy context. The time taken to register a death can vary; while many deaths are registered within a week, others, particularly those requiring coroner involvement, can take several months or even years.

This report is intended to illustrate the time taken to register deaths and the differences between registration timescales which is dependant on the certification type required, the cause of death and the involvement of the coroner.

Key Points

• 18,050 deaths registered in 2024.

• In 2024, the median time between the date of death and the date of registration in Northern Ireland was 4 days.

• Overall, the median time taken has remained fairly consistent over recent years.

• For cases certified by a coroner the median time between the date of death and the date of registration was 7 days, this increased to 237 days if a post-mortem was required.

• For external causes of death (accidents, suicide, assault and other external cases), the median time between the date of death and the date of registration was 160 days.


Time Taken to Register a Death in 2024

NISRA is not notified of the death until it is registered, therefore a proportion of deaths registered in any year have occurred in earlier years. For example, of the 18,050 deaths registered in 2024, 16,360 actually occurred in 2024, 1,383 occurred in 2023, 205 occurred in 2022, with the remaining 102 occurring in 2021 or earlier.


Figure 1 shows a breakdown of registered deaths by the year they occurred from 2010. For those registered in 2024, 90.6 per cent were registered within the same calendar year and 97.4 per cent were registered within one year of the date of death.



When assessing the average time taken to register a death, the median time taken is used as it gives a clear picture of typical cases, without being distorted by unusually short or long registration times. This figure will be the midpoint of all registration times when ordered from lowest to highest. In 2024, the median delay between the date of death and the date of registration in Northern Ireland was 4 days.


While the median time taken has remained fairly consistent over recent years, as illustrated in Figure 2, it is subject to minor year-on-year fluctuations. Some investigations are more complex and require longer investigation times. Therefore, while the median provides a useful benchmark for understanding typical registration times, it should be interpreted in the context of these underlying factors that influence individual cases.




Breaking this down further, the median time taken to register a death varies by how the death was certified. The majority of deaths in NI are certified promptly by a doctor, leading to shorter registration times (median time in 2024, was 4 days), but where the death must be referred to the Coroner for investigation this time increases and is further dependant on the level of investigation required, as show in Table 1.


Table 1: Number of Death Registrations and Time Taken to Register by Certification Type, 2024
Certification Type Number of Deaths Number of Deaths Registered in The Same Calendar Year They Occurred (%) Median Time Taken to Register in Days
All certification types 18,050 90.6 4
Certified by coroner 3,649 94.0 7
Certified by coroner with post-mortem 1,664 33.5 237
Certified by coroner with inquest 57 0.0 1,058
Certified by doctor 12,680 97.6 3


What This Means for Different Causes of Death

Certain categories of deaths are disproportionately affected by time taken to register the death. For example, deaths from natural causes (e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer) tend to be impacted less as they are most likely certified by a doctor and registered quickly. In contrast, deaths resulting from external causes (e.g., accidents, suicides, suspected homicides) and unascertained causes (where the cause is not clear) require coroner investigation, which can include post-mortem examination, and sometimes inquests, resulting in significantly longer coronial processing times.


Table 2 demonstrates notable variation in registration times across external causes of death, reflecting differences in the complexity of Coroner investigations. These disparities highlight the impact of investigative requirements on registration timelines.


Table 2: Number of Death Registrations and Time Taken to Register by Cause of Death, 2024
Cause of Death Number of Deaths Median Time Taken to Register in Days
External Causes of Death 1,211 160
Accidents 867 34
Suicide 290 254
Assault 15 1,309
Other external causes 39 7
All other Causes of death 16,839 4



Coroners’ cases can vary significantly in the time they take to investigate due to the complexity and circumstances surrounding each death. Some cases involve straightforward natural causes, while others may require extensive witness statements, forensic analysis, toxicology reports, or post-mortem examinations to determine the exact cause. If the death is sudden, unexplained, or potentially linked to criminal activity, the coroner must gather and assess a wide range of evidence, which can be time-consuming. The need to consult with medical experts, legal representatives or police can further add to the duration of the investigation.


Figure 3, below, indicates a gradual increase in cases from 2014 with the pandemic then driving a notable fall from 2020 to 2022. An associated spike in median registration times likely influenced by the significant disruption of normal processing procedures over that time was followed by an increase in cases in latest years and median registration times returning to previous levels. The caseload figure should also be considered in the context of increasing deaths in NI which are being driven by a growing and aging population.



Other factors influencing the timeline is the coroners’ caseload and the necessity to carry out specialised testing. Coroners’ often rely on specialised laboratories for testing, which may have backlogs or limited capacity. Additionally, scheduling formal court hearings for inquests to establish the facts of a death can be affected by court availability and the need to coordinate with witnesses and legal representatives. These procedural requirements are essential for ensuring a thorough and legally sound investigation, but they inevitably extend the time before a death can be officially registered. As can be seen in Table 1 above, deaths which require an inquest typically have the longest coronial process.

Because registration of a death typically requires confirmation of the cause, the time taken by the coroner to investigate the death and arrive at findings directly impacts the registration process.


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