Deaths of Homeless People in Northern Ireland 2024
Date published:
The first publication on Deaths of Homeless People in Northern Ireland was published at 9:30am this morning. This edition covers calendar years 2020 to 2024.
Key points
- There were an estimated 58 registered deaths of people experiencing homelessness in Northern Ireland in 2024, which was the same as 2023. This shows a decrease in comparison to the first year for which data is available (2020, 67).
- Belfast (local government district) had the highest number of estimated homeless deaths in 2024 (20).
- The estimated death rate of all homeless deaths in Northern Ireland in 2024 was 4.11 per 100,000 population aged 15 to 74. Across the 11 local government districts, the estimated mortality rate was highest in Derry City & Strabane (11.41).
- In 2024, 74.1% of homeless deaths were male and 25.9% were female.
- Just under half (46.6%) of estimated homeless deaths among all persons were under the age of 45.
When looking at selected specific causes of deaths of people experiencing homelessness, drug-related causes were the most common, accounting for an estimated 27.6% of all homeless deaths in 2024 and 25.9% in 2023. For context, for all deaths in NI in 2023, the most recent year for which data has been published, deaths to drug-related causes accounted for 3.0% of the total.
Notes for editors
Data on deaths of homeless people will be published annually, with the current release being the first. The report and accompanying tables are available in the Deaths of Homeless People in Northern Ireland webpage. A methodology paper is also available, detailing important information about the methodology used.