FOI reference: FOI-2026-3411
You asked
Please disclose:
How many deaths related to Female Genital Mutilation occurred between 2005 and 2025 in under 18s
How many deaths related to Female Genital Mutilation occurred between 2005 and 2025 in over 18s
We said
Thank you for your request.
We are responsible for the production of Mortality statistics for England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.
The law requires all deaths that occurred in England and Wales to be registered, after certification of the cause of death by a doctor or in some cases, investigation by a coroner. ONS mortality statistics are based on these registrations, and therefore do not include deaths abroad, for example, members of the armed forces serving overseas, international transport accidents (unless within the relevant territory) or individuals taken ill on holiday or business in another country.
Our mortality statistics are derived from information collected at death registration. Information is supplied by the person registering the death (the informant) in addition to details provided on the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD).
All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules.
There is an ICD-10 code that is used for deaths where 'personal history of female genital mutilation (FGM)' had been recorded on the death certificate. That code is Z91.7. However, ICD10 Z codes are not intended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for routine use in mortality coding and cannot be used as the underlying cause of death.
A death that involved FGM would have as the underlying cause of death, a reference to adverse effect of surgery or something similar. For example, ICD10 code Y83 - 'Surgical operation and other surgical procedures as the cause of abnormal reaction or complication'. For this reason, we have extracted death registrations where the underlying cause of death was Y83 and searched the cause of death and coroners' text to identify records where female genital mutilation or FGM was recorded in the text. We also carried out a search of all deaths, regardless of underlying cause and found no deaths where Z91.7 was recorded anywhere on the death certificate.
Information on the attendance of FGM patients is available on the NHS England Female Genital Mutilation dashboard.
For further information, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.