December mortality rate lower than average

The number and rate of deaths fell against the five year average in December, according to new figures released by National Records of Scotland. 

The NRS monthly mortality report shows there were 5,754 deaths in December which was 4% down on the five year average. The age standardised rate, which takes into account the size and age structure of the population, was 1,208 per 100,000 which was 9% down on the five year average. 

NRS vital events statistician, Beth Watson, said: 

“The mortality rate in December was 9% lower than the five year average. This is statistically significant. The five year average includes 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. 2020 has been removed from the average due to the highly unusual number of deaths in that first year of the pandemic. 

“The leading cause of death remains dementia and Alzheimer’s disease which accounted for 13% of all deaths in December. This is also the leading cause of death for females. For males, the leading cause of death was Ischaemic Heart Disease.”

This latest release of data by NRS also includes mortality figures for November. The number of deaths was 5,237. This is 2% higher than the five year average. The rate, which takes into account the changing size and age structure of the population was 1,139 per 100,000. This is 3% lower on the five year average.

The report notes that the cyber crime incident affecting Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has meant limited death registration data has been available from that area since early November. This area has a small population and is unlikely to have a big impact on the national figures. While all data from 2023 is provisional and subject to revision, there will be a bigger change in the figures for this area when final numbers are available.  

Background

The monthly mortality report provides headline figures every month, with much more information available in our downloadable datasets. These datasets all have interactive charts built in, to aid users in exploring the latest trends.

The data in this report is based on the date a death occurred - other analysis can be based on the date a death was registered.

The five year average does not include 2020 due to the unusual pattern of deaths in the first year of the pandemic. An explanation for this methodology agreed with statistics bodies across the UK is available on our website.

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