The definition of alcohol-specific deaths includes conditions known to be exclusively caused by alcohol and excludes conditions which may only be partially attributed to alcohol use.

Key points:

• There was a total of 397 alcohol-specific deaths registered in Northern Ireland in 2024.
• Since 2014, Northern Ireland has seen registered deaths due to alcohol-specific causes rise by 81.3% from 219 to 397 in 2024.
• Over the past ten years, the three-year rolling average for registered alcohol-specific deaths rose from 223.0 between 2012 to 2014 to 364.7 between 2022 to 2024.
• Considering the trend based on the year of occurrence, for which 2023 is the most reliable year, the three-year rolling average of alcohol-specific deaths rose from 222 in 2014 to 367 in 2023, a series high.
• The alcohol-specific age-standardised mortality rate per 100,000 people was the highest on record in 2024 (21.4), up from 12.9 in 2014.
• The age-standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population of alcohol-specific deaths for males was almost twice that of the rate for females (28.1 and 14.9 respectively) in 2024.
• Almost two-thirds (64.5%) of the 397 deaths registered were male.
• Alcohol-specific deaths continue to be more prevalent among the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups, which together accounted for 59.4% of all alcohol-specific deaths registered in 2024.
• Belfast had the highest age-standardised mortality rate for alcohol-specific deaths of all Local Government Districts (LGDs) in Northern Ireland in 2024 (31.1).
• Between 2020 and 2024, the percentage of alcohol-specific deaths in Northern Ireland’s most deprived areas (36.7%) was almost four times that of the least deprived areas (9.9%).
• Across the United Kingdom, the most recent year with comparable data is 2023. Scotland and Northern Ireland had the highest alcohol-specific death rates, recording 22.6 and 18.5 deaths per 100,000 respectively. In contrast, England and Wales had lower rates of alcohol-specific deaths, with 15.0 and 17.7 deaths per 100,000 respectively. It should be noted, however, that cross country comparisons may be affected by differences in data collection and collation processes in the separate jurisdictions.

See also:

Alcohol-Specific Deaths 2024 Tables, Microsoft Excel (49 KB)
Alcohol-Specific Deaths 2024 Tables, (ODS) OpenDocument spreadsheet (21 KB)