Main Points:

• In 2025, there were 1,152 alcohol-specific deaths registered in Scotland, a decrease of 3% (33 deaths) compared with 2024.
• This is the lowest number of alcohol-specific deaths registered in any year from 2020 onwards.
• After adjusting for age, there were 20.2 alcohol-specific deaths per 100,000 people in Scotland in 2025.
• The rate of male alcohol-specific deaths was more than two times the rate for females in 2025. The latest decrease was driven by a decrease in male deaths (by 5% or 43 deaths) while female deaths increased (by 3% or 10 deaths).
• The age profile of alcohol-specific deaths has become older over time, with the average age increasing in the last decade. Age groups 45 to 64 and 65 to 74 continue to have the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths.
• Over the latest year, the number of alcohol-specific deaths decreased in half of the council areas (16 areas) across Scotland, increased in 11 areas and was unchanged in five areas.
• The rate of alcohol-specific deaths was higher than the Scotland average in Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, Dundee City and Renfrewshire (measured over the five-year period 2021 to 2025).
• In 2025, the rate of alcohol-specific deaths in the most deprived areas of Scotland was 4.8 times as high as in the least deprived areas. In contrast, the rate is around two times as high for all causes of death.
• In 2024, Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths across the UK (20.9 and 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively). Data for 2024 is the latest year that is available across the UK.