Dataset(s): Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional

Important notes and usage information

• In the week ending 7 January 2022 (Week 1), 12,262 deaths were registered in England and Wales; this was 3,785 more deaths than the previous week (Week 52 2021), which is partly because of the bank holidays in Week 52, and 7.8% below the five-year average (1,036 fewer deaths).
• The number of deaths registered in England in the week ending 7 January 2022 (Week 1) was 11,470; this was 3,564 more deaths than the previous week (Week 52 2021) and 7.6% below the five-year average (950 fewer deaths).
• The number of deaths registered in Wales in the week ending 7 January 2022 (Week 1) was 776; this was 217 more deaths than the previous week (Week 52 2021) and 8.9% below the five-year average (76 fewer deaths).
• Of the deaths registered in Week 1 in England and Wales, 922 mentioned “novel coronavirus (COVID-19)”, accounting for 7.5% of all deaths; this was an increase in the number of deaths compared with Week 52 2021 (582 deaths, 6.9% of all deaths).
• The number of deaths involving COVID-19 in England increased to 857 in Week 1, compared with 557 in Week 52 2021; for Wales, deaths involving COVID-19 increased to 61 in Week 1, compared with 24 in Week 52 2021.
• Of the 922 deaths involving COVID-19, 77.2% (712 deaths) had this recorded as the underlying cause of death compared with 78.0% in Week 52 2021.
• Using the most up-to-date data we have available, the number of deaths from the week ending 13 March 2020 to the week ending 7 January 2022 was 1,089,254 in England and Wales; of these, 1,020,846 were recorded in England and 66,973 were recorded in Wales.
• From the week ending 13 March 2020 to the week ending 7 January 2022, the number of excess deaths above the five-year average in England and Wales was 127,704; of these, 122,467 were recorded in England and 6,520 were recorded in Wales.
• In Week 1 in England and Wales, the number of deaths was above the five-year average in private homes (14.2% above, 423 excess deaths) but below the five-year average in hospitals (15.5% below, 1,008 fewer deaths), care homes (12.8% below, 373 fewer deaths) and other settings (8.9% below, 78 fewer deaths).
• The number of deaths registered in the UK in the week ending 7 January 2022 was 13,886, which was 8.3% below the five-year average (1,255 fewer deaths); of the deaths registered in the UK in Week 1, 1,023 involved COVID-19, which was 383 more than in Week 52 2021.

This table includes provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales, by age, sex and region, in the latest weeks for which data are available. Includes the most up-to-date figures available for deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19).

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

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