Vital Statstics Newsletter

Registrar General Quarterly Tables 2025 Quarter 4

The Quarter 4 (October to December) 2025 Registrar General Quarterly Tables were published on Thursday 2 April 2026.

Key points

The statistics show a provisional total of 4,447 deaths registered in quarter four of 2025 (Table 1c).
At a high level there were 1,196 (26.9%) deaths due to cancer, 914 (20.6%) deaths due to circulatory disease, and 630 (14.2%) deaths due to respiratory diseases (excluding Covid-19 deaths) (Table 1c).
Looking in more detail the leading cause of death for all persons in Northern Ireland in quarter four, 2025 was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This was also true for females but for males the leading cause of death was ischaemic heart disease (Table 7).
The expected deaths for quarter four of 2025 was estimated at 4,846. The relative number of excess deaths based on the expected deaths for quarter four of 2025 was estimated at -399 (Table 9a).
The age-specific death rates show the clear relationship between mortality and age. Death rates for quarter four of 2025 range from 0.05 to 15.22 (deaths per 1,000 population of the relative age group) for age groups up to 65 to 74, however, the rates for age groups above are much higher, with 120.23 for 85 to 89 year olds and to 250.63 for those aged 90 and over (Table 6).
A total of 1,470 marriages were registered in quarter four of 2025, and 21 civil partnerships (Table 1d).
The number of births registered in quarter four of 2025 was 4,576. This is continuing the downward trend which has been observed for over a decade (Table 1a).

Tables are available in Registrar General Quarterly Report .

Winter Mortality in Northern Ireland, 2024/25

The Winter Mortality Report for 2024/25 was published on Thursday 19 February 2026.

Key points

The report on Winter Mortality (WM) includes information on the provisional number of deaths that occurred from December 2024 to March 2025, compared with the non-winter months (including the preceding August to November 2024 and following April to July 2025).
There were 6,291 deaths in the winter of 2024/25 (December to March). Comparing this with the average for the two adjacent four-month non-winter periods, the seasonal increase in mortality in winter 2024/25 was an estimated 1,000. This was 310 more than the corresponding estimate of 690 for the previous winter (2023/24).
Winter mortality is usually higher in females compared with males. This was not the case in winter 2024/25 with males accounting for 52.2 per cent of the 1,000 additional winter deaths and females accounting for 47.8 per cent.
Nearly three-quarters (73.0 per cent) of the additional winter deaths in 2024/25 were people aged 75 or older. In contrast, 20.0 per cent of the additional winter deaths were those under the age of 65.
Respiratory and circulatory diseases together accounted for over half of the additional winter deaths in 2024/25, at 31.0 and 24.0 per cent respectively.
Deaths in the winter months were 18.9 per cent higher than in the adjacent non-winter months – this proportion is referred to as the Winter Mortality Index (WMI).
The Health & Social Care Trust with the highest WMI in 2024/25 was the Belfast Trust with 22.9 per cent more deaths occurring in the winter months. In comparison, the lowest WMI was in the Western Trust where 15.3 per cent more deaths occurred in the winter months than in the non-winter months.
In 2024/25, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon had the highest WMI among local government districts where 25.1 per cent more deaths occurred in the winter months compared to the non-winter months. Fermanagh & Omagh had the lowest WMI with 6.2 per cent more deaths occurring in the winter months.

Further details on Winter Mortality in Northern Ireland statistics, including detailed methodology can be found at the Winter Mortality Webpage

Baby Names, 2025

The Baby Names Report and Tables for 2025 were published on Thursday 16 April 2026.

Key points

Noah and Grace were the most popular first names given to babies registered in 2025.
Grace has remained at the top spot as the most popular girls’ name after placing top in 2024 and after five years at number one from 2018 to 2022. Noah has returned to number one after first reaching the top spot (joint) in 2018 and regaining it in 2023.
For boys’ names, Jack came in second to Noah. Jack has remained in the top four since 1998, with 12 consecutive years at number one from 2003 to 2014, and regaining the top spot again in 2021. James returned to third place, having been in the top three since 2010, and reaching first place from 2015 to 2020, and in 2022 and 2024.
Arthur entered the boys’ top ten in 2025 for the first time in the series which dates back to 1997. Leo re-entered the top 10, after appearing in 2018, 2021, and 2023. Within the boys’ top 100, the highest climbers in popularity between 2024 and 2025 were Naoise, Conn, Reggie, and Micheal. Some of the less common names given to baby boys in 2025 were Ace, Bowie, and Phoenix.
For baby girls, Fiadh came in second to Grace, up from third place in 2024. Fiadh has held a top three position since 2021. Olivia came in third, down from second place in 2024, and remaining in the top five since 2015.
Annie re-entered the top 10 in 2025, only appearing in the top 10 once before in 2022, and Meabh entered the top 10 for the first time in 2025. Within the girls’ top 100, the highest climbers in popularity between 2024 and 2025 were Lainey, Millie, Cassie, and Harper.
As with previous years, there were a greater variety of girls’ names (2,225) than boys’ names (1,875) registered in 2025. Some of the less common names given to baby girls in 2025 were Wynter, Zendaya, and Pixie.
Birth registrations in 2025 included 966 baby names that had not been used before.

You can find out more about these names and others on NISRA’s interactive dashboard which facilitates name searches by rank, number of babies registered with that name, meaning and origin. The dashboard is available via a link on the main baby names `r fa(“arrow-up-right-from-square”) web page.

Drug-related Deaths in Northern Ireland, 2024

Drug-related Deaths in Northern Ireland, 2024 was published on 13 May 2026 at 9.30am.

Key points

The three-year average for the number of registered drug-related deaths has shown a general rise over the past decade.
The average rose from 111.7 (2012-14) to 207.3 (2019-21). It then fell to 178.7 (2021-23) before rising to 191.3 in 2022-24.
The number of drug misuse deaths has similarly fluctuated over time, rising from a three-year average of 81.3 (2012-14) to 164.7 in 2022-24.
There were 251 drug-related deaths registered in 2024, 219 (87.3 per cent) of which fell within the definition of drug misuse.
Like previous years, males accounted for more than two-thirds (70.9 per cent) of drug-related deaths in 2024.
The 35-44 age group had the highest age-specific drug-related and drug misuse mortality rates in 2024, at 30.1 and 27.0 per 100,000 population, respectively.
Opioids was the most mentioned drug group. They appeared on the death certificates of 131 (52.2%) drug related deaths registered in 2024. Benzodiazepines were the next most common group (128 deaths or 51.0%).
Pregabalin was the specific drug mentioned most often, appearing on the death certificates of 101 (40.2%) of the 251 drug related deaths registered in 2024.
Cocaine was the most prominent drug in deaths that involved only one drug in 2024. It contributed to 8.8 per cent of total drug-related deaths and 40.7 per cent (22) of single-drug deaths (54).
Alcohol was mentioned in approximately one-fifth (19.9%) of drug-related deaths in 2024, in line with previous years.
Multi-drug deaths have become more prevalent over time, with the proportion of deaths involving five or more drugs rising from 12.7% (2014) to 21.9% (2024).
Belfast Local Government District (LGD) had the highest number of drug-related deaths (80) and the highest age standardised mortality rate (ASMR) (21.6 per 100,000 population) in 2024.
The most deprived areas experienced the highest number of drug-related deaths for the combined years of 2020 to 2024, accounting for 43.7 per cent of drug-related deaths and 44.4 per cent of drug misuse deaths. The least deprived areas in Northern Ireland accounted for 7.4 per cent of drug-related deaths and 6.9 per cent of drug misuse deaths in the same period.

Further statistics on drug-related deaths can be found on the Drug-Related Deaths webpage.

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