Latest on mortality numbers and rates for England and Wales, including all-cause and specific causes as defined by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
Publications
Finalised data for all births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and divorces along with population data for the year in question.
Presents data on infant deaths that have been linked to their corresponding birth record. These birth cohort tables relate to deaths among infants born in a given calendar year.
Child mortality statistics for England and Wales
Present data on death registrations in England and Wales. They contain data for death rates, cause of death data by sex and age and death registrations by area of residence.
Deaths registered in Northern Ireland during the registration year.
Presents data on excess winter deaths in Wales, based on figures produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The difference between the number of deaths in the four-month 'winter' period and the average of the previous and subsequent four-month periods.
Present data on infant deaths registered in England and Wales by health areas.
This report presents a range of statistical targets and indicators in support of the Northern Ireland Executive’s anti poverty and social inclusion strategy ‘Lifetime Opportunities'. The monitoring framework is structured around 3 ‘layers’: • Child poverty targets • Poverty and social inclusion indicators • Public service agreement targets Analyses of statistics are on a lifecycle basis and are benchmarked against other jurisdictions when possible
Monthly death figures provide provisional counts of the number of deaths registered by area of usual residence, England and Wales.
Discontinued. Presents statistics on deaths occurring annually in England and Wales.
Annual review of the Registrar General on childhood, infant and perinatal deaths, in England and Wales.
Presents mortality statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales, classified by sex and age and by other selected information collected at the time of registration.
Present data on death registrations in England and Wales. They contain data for death rates, cause of death data by sex and age and death registrations by area of residence.
Discontinued. Contains key statistics of deaths and death rates in England and Wales by age, sex, marital status, place of death, birthplace and coroner involvement for the year.
Discontinued. Contains detailed analyses of all deaths which were attributed to accidents, poisonings and violence, covering both the external cause and the nature of injury. These deaths are analysed by age and sex.
Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships registered in Northern Ireland during each quarter.
Provides statistics on infant deaths registered and live births and stillbirths occurring in England and Wales by Government Office Region and health area.
The 21st Century Mortality Files are a record of mortality in England and Wales from 2001 onwards. They are designed to complement the Twentieth Century Mortality CD-ROM. The files consist of an aggregated database of deaths by age-group, sex, year and underlying cause, and include populations for England and Wales.
These tables provide annual and quarterly data for a selection of key statistics under the following themes: population, demography, legal partnerships and health. Figures for the latest quarters and years may be provisional, these will be updated to final figures when data is available.
Weekly death figures provide provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the latest four weeks for which data are available.
Weekly death figures provide provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the latest four weeks for which data are available up to the end of 2009. From week one 2010 the latest eight weeks for which data are available will be published.
Overview
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces mortality figures (numbers and rates) for all causes as specified in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), and for a range of grouped causes. These data cover England and Wales.
Technical Data
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Vital Statistics Outputs Branch (VSOB) produces an annual publication (Series DR) that contains mortality statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales, classified by sex and age and by other selected information collected at the time of registration.
Statistics for deaths in previous years are also included to show recent trends in mortality. This single publication replaces the annual reference volumes DH1, DH2 and DH4 and contains selected key tables previously included in these volumes. The tables are based on deaths registered in a calendar year whereas DH1, DH2 and DH4 reported on deaths occurring in a calendar year.
VSOB also produces a cause of death report for the Health Statistics Quarterly journal, an area report for the Population Trends journal, and the annual publication DH3 that contains detailed analyses of all stillbirths, infant and perinatal deaths and data on deaths of children under 16 by cause of death, sex and age group.
There are also analyses by some of the key risk factors affecting stillbirths and infant deaths, obtained by linking the baby's death record with the corresponding birth record; father's social class, age and country of birth of mother, previous children born within the marriage, and birthweight.
In addition, VSOB produces an estimate of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the previous week based on submissions of death records from register offices. An estimate of the number of deaths caused by respiratory disease is also produced. The estimates are used as a rapid surveillance tool for early warning signs of an upturn in the number of deaths. This may be caused, for example by a particularly cold weather spell, an influenza epidemic or a heatwave.
Glossary
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Accelerated registrations
The process by which a death can be registered at the time of adjournment of an inquest, instead of having to await the outcome of criminal proceedings.
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Annual extract
The data set taken from the main deaths database from which most mortality tabulations are derived.
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Assault
The ICD-10 terminology referring to homicide and injuries inflicted by another person with intent to injure or kill, by any means (excluding deaths from legal intervention and operations of war).
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Automated Cause Coding Sytem (ACCS)
Automated cause coding system software developed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
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Bridge coding
An exercise in which the same group of deaths are independently classified according to two different classifications or coding methods.
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CHALE
Centre for Health Analysis & Life Events (at the Office for National Statistics).
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Comparability ratio
A measure, expressed as a ratio, indicating the net effect of the change in classification (from ICD-9 to ICD-10) on a particular cause of death.
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Coroner
Public official responsible for the investigation of violent, sudden or suspicious deaths.
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Declaration
The method by which an informant can register a death in a different district from that in which the death occurred.
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Dual coding
The coding of the same data twice, using different methods of coding in order to assess inconsistencies.
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Early neonatal deaths
Deaths at ages up to six completed days of life.
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Epidemiologist
A person concerned with the incidence and distribution of diseases and other factors, including the environment, relating to health.
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External cause
Death resulting from accident or violence. An alternative term for the underlying cause of death. ICD codes from Chapter XX (see Secondary causes).
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GRO
General Register Office, located in Southport, England.
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Hierarchical classification
The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS’s) method for classifying the causes of neonatal deaths and stillbirths using groups of ICD codes referred to as ‘ONS cause groups’.
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HSQ
Health Statistics Quarterly journal (an Office for National Statistics ONS quarterly publication).
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Inquest
Inquiry into the cause of an unexplained, sudden or violent death held by a coroner.
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International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
The ICD is the international standard diagnostic classification for all general epidemiological, many health management purposes and clinical use. It is used to classify diseases and other health problems recorded on many types of health and vital records including death certificates and health records. In addition to enabling the storage and retrieval of diagnostic information for clinical, epidemiological and quality purposes, these records also provide the basis for the compilation of national mortality and morbidity statistics.
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KPVS
Key Population and Vital Statistics (publication).
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MCCD
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
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Modification rules
Rules used in ICD-10 applied rules to select the correct underlying cause of death.
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Mortality rate
The usual practice in Office for National Statistics (ONS) publications is to calculate age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages.
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NCHS
National Center for Health Statistics, USA, who developed ACCS.
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Neonatal
Relating to infants aged under 28 days.
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NHSCR
National Health Service Central Register.
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Perinatal deaths
Stillbirths and deaths at ages up to six completed days of life (early neonatal).
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Population Trends
An Office for National Statistics (ONS) quarterly publication.
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Postneonatal deaths
Deaths of infants aged 28 days and over but under one year.
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Registrar
Statutory officer responsible for the registration of births, deaths and marriages.
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Registrar General
Statutory appointment with responsibility for the administration of the registration Acts in England and Wales, and other related functions as specified by the relevant legislation.
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Registration officer
Generic term for registrar, superintendent registrar and additional registrars.
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Reports
Short articles on cause of death using registration data soon after they are available (in the Health Statistics Quarterly and Population Trends journals).
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RON
Registration online. A web-based system that enables registrars to record births, stillbirths, deaths and civil partnerships online.
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RSS
Registration Service Software.
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Rule 3
One of the rules used to select the correct underlying cause of death; its different use in ICD-10 results in significant differences from ICD-9 for some causes (see Selection rules).
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Secondary cause
The nature of injury, or main injury, that caused death (where the underlying cause is assigned to an external cause from Chapter XX in ICD-10, V01 to Y89). Nature of injury codes are taken mostly from Chapter XIX (prefixes S and T).
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Selection rules
Rules used in the ICD to determine the correct selection of the underlying cause of death (see Rule 3).
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Sequela (sequelae)
A condition (or conditions) reported as the result of a previous injury, a ‘late effect’ (under ICD-9), or that occurs as a late effect one year or more after the originating event.
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Standardised mortality ratio (SMR)
An SMR is the ratio of the observed number of deaths in an area (for example, an electoral ward) to the number expected if that area had the same age-specific rates as a reference area (for example, England and Wales). If an SMR is less than 100, the number of deaths in an area was less than would have been expected. Conversely, if an SMR is greater than 100, the number of deaths was greater than expected.
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Standard population
Used in the calculation of the age-standardised death rates; an element of the population (such as age and sex) is ‘held constant’ to control its effect, for example, the European Standard.
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Stillbirth
Refers to the Stillbirth (Definition) Act 1992; a child born after 24 or more weeks completed gestation who did not show any signs of life at any time after being born.
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Superintendent registrar
Statutory officer with responsibilities relating to births, deaths, marriage and other registration functions, as specified in the relevant legislation.
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Underlying cause of death
The cause of death selected for primary tabulation based on ICD rules.
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VSOB
Vital Statistics Outputs Branch (at the Office for National Statistics (ONS)).
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WHO
World Health Organisation.
Contact Details
For statistical enquiries about this topic, please contact:
Vital Statistics Outputs Branch (VSOB)
Email: VSOB@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1329 444 110
The Office for National Statistics Segensworth Road Titchfield Fareham PO15 5RR
