Weekly registered deaths: 306 for week ending 15 May 2026

Date published: 22 May 2026

The tables containing data on deaths registered for the weeks up to week ending 15 May 2026 were released at 9.30am today.

Key points 

Date of registration

• The provisional number of total deaths registered in Northern Ireland in the week ending 15 May (week 20) was 306, 11 fewer than the previous week (317). 
• The number of expected deaths for week 20 was estimated at 351, using the methodology based on mortality rates and trends. The relative number of excess deaths based on the expected deaths for week 20 was estimated at -45. 
• For the week ending 15 May 2026, the provisional number of deaths was 154 for males and 152 for females.
• The number of expected deaths was estimated at 179 for males and 172 for females, using the current methodology, based on mortality rates and trends. The relative number of excess deaths based on the expected deaths for the same week, was estimated at -25 for males and -20 for females, using the current method.
• For 2026, by 15 May, 50.8% of deaths were males and 49.2% were females. Over two-thirds (67.2%) of deaths were in the 75 years and over age group.
• In 2026, by 15 May, there have been 7,347 deaths registered. 3,343 (45.5%) of these took place in hospital, 1,282 (17.4%) in care homes and 2,722 (37.0%) at residential addresses, hospices, or other locations.
• The number of deaths mentioning flu and/or pneumonia on the death certificate registered in week 20 2026 totalled 54, bringing the total for 2026 so far to 1,366.

Date of death

• The provisional number of deaths occurring in the week ending 15 May (including those registered up to and including 20 May 2026) was 232.

Note for Editor

The number of deaths registered may have been impacted by General Registration Office closures around Early May bank holiday. Care should therefore be taken in interpreting weekly data for the week of, and potentially the week after, any public or bank holiday.
The tables are available from the weekly deaths webpage.
Historical weekly deaths data are available on the Final Historical Data page under weekly deaths.
More information on the current method for producing estimates of expected deaths, used to determine excess deaths, is available from the ONS website and a summary paper is available on the NISRA website.
If you would like to receive alerts about Vital Statistics releases, please email demography@nisra.gov.uk