Scottish cities

Age-sex standardised death rates for Scottish cities

In Scotland and in its largest cities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow), mortality rates reduced between 1991 and 2010. From 2010 to 2019, mortality rates rose in Scotland and in all the Scottish cities, with the exception of Edinburgh. In 2020, there was a sharp rise in mortality rates in all cities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in Scotland in early 2020. Mortality rates dropped slightly in the majority of the cities in 2021; the exception to this was Aberdeen where mortality rates rose further.

In the latest two years up to 2023, mortality rates have remained stable in Scotland. Glasgow remains the local authority with the highest mortality rate in Scotland, although rates have decreased in the last three years, since 2020. In Dundee there has been an especially notable rise in mortality since 2013, with rates decreasing somewhat after 2020 before increasing again in 2023.

There is now a large body of evidence detailing the unprecedented changes to mortality rates that have taken place in Scotland, and across the wider UK, in the past ten years. These trends, including increasing death rates among poorer communities and the end to decades of previously continual improvement at country level, predate the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information go to the GCPH website. 

Notes

Age-sex standardised mortality rates control for the age structure of populations and therefore allow comparison of mortality rates between different areas.

More detailed data on deaths in Scotland can be accessed from National Records of Scotland.

Last updated November 2024.