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Registrar General Quarterly
Tables 2025 Quarter 2
Q2

The Quarter 2 (April to June) 2025 Registrar General Quarterly Tables were published at 9.30am on 25 September.

Key Points
  • The statistics show a provisional total of 4,272 deaths registered in quarter two of 2025.
  • At a high level there were 1,180 (27.6%) deaths due to cancer, 983 (23.0%) deaths due to circulatory disease, and 480 (11.2%) deaths due to respiratory diseases (excluding Covid-19 deaths).
  • Looking in more detail the leading cause of death for all persons in Northern Ireland in quarter two, 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.
  • The expected deaths for quarter two of 2025 was estimated at 4,432. The relative number of excess deaths based on the expected deaths for quarter two of 2025 was estimated at -160.
  • The age-specific death rates show the clear relationship between mortality and age Death rates range from 0.09 to 15.85 (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 108.04 for 85 to 89 year olds and to 201.76 for those aged 90 and over.
  • A total of 2,201 marriages were registered in quarter two of 2025, and 19 civil partnerships.
  • The number of births registered in quarter two of 2025 was 4,723. This is continuing the downward trend which has been observed for over a decade.

Tables are available in Registrar General Quarterly Report.

Registrar General
Annual Report, 2024
RG2024

The next edition of the Annual Report of the Registrar General detailing vital event registrations made with the General Register Office in Northern Ireland is scheduled for the second half of November 2025.

Additions to tables accompanying the Annual Report of the Registrar General this year include:

  • Expanding the tables on excess deaths to include a longer-term annual time series, and confidence intervals around the expected deaths to give an idea of the margins of error around the estimates.
  • A time series of 3-year averages for suicides registered in NI which will give a better idea of the trend over time as there can be a level of volatility around single years of data for a number of reasons. However, the annual report on Suicide Deaths in Northern Ireland is still the best reference for a fuller picture on this area.

The tables accompanying the Annual Report of the Registrar General usually contain sub-national breakdowns of number of registrations for various vital events as well as rates, which provide a more suitable way of comparing sub-national geographies. At the time of production, full re-based time series population estimates were not available for Health and Social Care Trusts so this edition will only include rates for Local Government Districts and Northern Ireland level.

The Suicide Statistics Report, 2024 will be published on the same day as the Registrar General Annual Report, 2024. These tables will detail the number of suicides registered in Northern Ireland in 2024 and provide additional information on age, sex, geographical area and time taken to register the death.

Suicide Statistics in
Northern Ireland, 2024
Suicides2024

The Suicide Statistics Report, 2024 will be published on the same day as the Registrar General Annual Report, 2024. These tables will detail the number of suicides registered in Northern Ireland in 2024 and provide additional information on age, sex, geographical area and time taken to register the death.

Suicide statistics are important for monitoring trends in deaths resulting from intentional (and probable) self-harm. The statistics are widely used to inform policy, planning and research in both the public and private sector and they enable policy makers and support services to target their resources most effectively. Key users include the Department of Health, the Public Health Agency, academics, and charity organisations. There is a period of time between when a suicide occurs and when the death is registered. More information on the definition and data series for suicides deaths is available from the relevant page on the NISRA website Suicide Deaths | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Profiling Suicide, Drug
and Alcohol Deaths in
Northern Ireland
Profiling

A NISRA led research report on profiling suicide, drug and alcohol deaths in Northern Ireland was published on 10 September 2025.

This study used a linked research dataset, the Northern Ireland Mortality Study (NIMS) covering the period 2011 to 2022, to examine the personal, household and area factors associated with suicide, drug-related and alcohol-specific deaths.

Finding related to suicides:
Suicide deaths were analysed across a range of socio-economic groups. The analysis showed that suicide disproportionately affected males, those under 45 years of age, and those living in urban or the most deprived areas. After taking account of other factors such as age and marital status, modelling analysis identified that:
  • Poor mental health was associated with higher risk of suicide for both males and females.
  • Living alone was linked to higher mortality risk for both sexes, while for males, being a child in a lone-parent household was also associated with increased risk.
  • Unemployment was associated with increased risk for both sexes.
  • Among males, having no qualifications or having intermediate-level qualifications as the highest level of educational attainment was linked to greater risk.
  • Among females, economic inactivity and living in urban areas were associated with increased risk.

    • Findings related to Drug-related and Alcohol deaths:
  • Drug-related deaths were most common among those aged 16-44 years, while alcohol specific deaths were most prevalent among individuals aged 35-54 years.
  • Both types of death disproportionately affected males, people living in urban areas (particularly Greater Belfast) and residents of the most deprived areas.

    • After taking account of other factors such as age and area deprivation, the analyses found that:
    Drug-related deaths
  • Poor mental health was associated with higher mortality risk for both sexes.
  • For females, being single, divorced or separated was associated with higher mortality risk.
  • For males, living alone, or being a lone parent in a household, was linked with increased risk.
  • For males, increased risk was associated with having no qualifications and with unemployment. For females, economic inactivity was associated with increased risk.

    • Alcohol-specific deaths
  • Unemployment and economic inactivity were linked with higher mortality risk for both sexes.
  • Having a disability was associated with higher mortality risk for both sexes.
  • For males, living alone, or being a child in a lone-parent household, was associated with higher mortality risk.
  • Living in social-rented housing was associated with increased risk for both sexes.
  • Being divorced or separated was associated with increased risk for both sexes; single females also had increased risk. These findings highlight important patterns that can help inform prevention strategies and public health policy.


    • These findings highlight important patterns to inform prevention strategies and public health policy. The findings show associations rather than causation and should not be interpreted as direct cause-and-effect relationships.

    The research has been funded by the Economic & Social Research Council via ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) and taken forward by NISRA, who together with the Administrative Data Research Centre Northern Ireland (comprising Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University), form the ADR Northern Ireland (ADR NI).

    You can find the report and supporting documents on the NISRA website: Profiling suicide, drug and alcohol deaths in Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

    Other announcements

    User engagement

    We welcome any feedback you may have which you can provide through our online survey at the link below:
    Vital Statistics User Survey 2025/2026 (Opens in new tab)

    The findings from the 2024/2025 survey will be available in due course.

    We would urge all users to please share their views on the outputs they use and to highlight any information needs that are not currently being met.

    All feedback is welcome throughout the year.

    You can, of course, also get in touch directly with VSU anytime using the email: NISRA.

    If you would like to be added to the Vital Statics mailing list then please let us know at NISRA.

    Contact us

    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?

    Please e-mail comments to NISRA.

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

    NISRA website

     

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