The number of deaths wholly attributed to alcohol fell by 3% in 2025, according to new figures from National Records of Scotland.
There were 1,152 alcohol-specific deaths registered last year, 33 fewer than in 2024.
The fall was driven by a decrease of 43 in the number of deaths among males while there was an increase of 10 deaths among females. The rate of deaths among males is still twice that of females.
Head of vital events statistics for NRS, Phillipa Haxton, said: “The number of deaths this year is the lowest from 2020 onwards and well below the peak of 2006. However, the rate of deaths is around 1.7 times as high as 1994 when records for this series began.
“The age profile of alcohol-specific deaths has grown older over time. The rate of deaths continues to be highest among people aged 45 to 64 and 65 to 74 but the average age at death has increased from 54 to 60 years since 1979. This remains low compared to all causes of death where the average age of death was 77 in 2025.”
Alcohol-specific death rates in the most deprived communities have fallen over time but remain 4.8 times higher than in the least deprived areas. For all cases of death the most deprived areas have a rate twice as high as the least deprived.
The rate of alcohol-specific deaths was higher than the Scotland average in Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, Dundee City and Renfrewshire, as measured over the five-year period 2021 to 2025.
Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths in the UK in 2024, the latest year that data is available across the UK.
Background
The National Records of Scotland is responsible for producing statistics on Scotland’s population.
The publication Alcohol-specific Deaths 2025 is available on our website.
Please consider following the recommendations in Reporting of Substance Toolkit created by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and Adfam.
