If you are looking for the latest data on deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19) registered in England and Wales, please see our weekly provisional deaths dataset.

Main points from latest release

The key points from this release are:

• In December 2022, there were 49,339 deaths registered in England, 5,871 deaths (13.5%) above the December five-year average (2016 to 2019, and 2021); there were 3,432 deaths registered in Wales, 482 deaths (16.3%) above the December average.
• In 2022 (using provisional monthly data), deaths were above average in both England and Wales (6.3% and 5.0% above average, respectively), but when accounting for population size and age structure, the age standardised mortality rate (ASMR) for the year was below average for both England and Wales (0.7% and 1.1% below average, respectively).
• In December 2022, the leading cause of death in both England and Wales was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (12.0% of all deaths in both England and in Wales).
• In December 2022, the leading cause of excess death in England was influenza and pneumonia, at 574 excess deaths (26.2% above average); in Wales, it was symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions (which includes “old age” and “frailty”), at 62 excess deaths (95.4% above average).
• For 2022 overall, the leading cause of excess deaths was symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions in both England, with 4,756 excess deaths (36.9% above average), and Wales, with 231 excess deaths (30.4% above average).
• Considering 2022 overall, deaths due to influenza and pneumonia had the greatest number of deaths below average in both England (4,665 fewer deaths; 19.9% below average) and Wales (537 fewer deaths; 27.9% below average).
• In Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022, symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions remained the most common pre-existing condition mentioned on death certificates for deaths due to coronavirus (COVID-19) in England and Wales, at 1,227 deaths (29.4% of deaths due to COVID-19).
  

Notes

These figures are presented by regions (within England), unitary authorities, counties, districts and London boroughs.

Weekly deaths counts cannot be summed to match the counts for monthly deaths as some weeks may span more than one month.

For information on data quality, legislation and procedures relating to mortality statistics, please see our User guide to mortality statistics.

There is an interactive mapping tool that enables trends in mortality to be analysed at the local level.

For mortality data for other UK countries, please see statistics on deaths in Scotland and statistics on deaths in Northern Ireland.