913 per 100,000: the lowest death rate England and Wales have recorded
What happened
On 25 September 2026, the Office for National Statistics published its full figures for deaths registered in England and Wales during 2025. There were 570,988 deaths registered. That is 0.4% more than in 2024, when there were 568,613. At first glance that looks like things got slightly worse. They did not. The number of deaths went up because the population is larger and older. The rate at which people die — once you adjust for age — went down. That adjusted figure is called the age-standardised mortality rate, or ASMR. It lets you compare one year with another fairly. In 2025 it was 913 deaths per 100,000 people. The ONS describes this as the lowest since its time series began in 1994. Rates fell for both men and women, and both reached their lowest recorded levels: 1,073 per 100,000 for males and 781 per 100,000 for females. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease remained the leading cause of death, with 72,272 deaths registered — 12.7% of all deaths. These are accredited official statistics, which is the highest quality badge UK statistics can carry.
Why this matters
A record-low death rate is genuinely good news, and it does not get said often enough. It reflects decades of ordinary, unglamorous work: fewer people smoking, better treatment for heart attacks and strokes, better cancer detection, vaccination, safer roads, safer workplaces. No single breakthrough did this. Thousands of small improvements did. But the same release shows the gains are not shared out evenly. For the fourth year running, the North East had the highest death rates of any English region — 1,189 per 100,000 for males and 880 for females. Wales had a higher overall rate than England: 1,010 per 100,000 against 905. Within Wales, Merthyr Tydfil had the highest rate for males and Blaenau Gwent the highest for females. So where you live still shapes how long you live. That is not a new finding, and that is rather the point — it has been true for a long time, and it stayed true in 2025. The cause-of-death figures matter too, in a different way. They tell you where the country's health effort now needs to go.
What the evidence actually says
The leading cause of death differed between men and women, and the difference is striking. For females, dementia and Alzheimer's disease was the leading cause, at 16.5% of all female deaths. For males, it was ischaemic heart disease — heart disease caused by narrowed arteries — at 12.2% of all male deaths. Taken together across both sexes, dementia and Alzheimer's disease came first, with 72,272 registrations and 12.7% of the total. It is worth understanding why dementia keeps topping these tables, because it is easy to misread. It is partly that dementia is better recognised and better recorded on death certificates than it used to be. And it is partly a consequence of success elsewhere: when fewer people die young of heart attacks and cancer, more people live long enough to develop dementia. That is not a comforting thought, but it is an honest one. A record-low mortality rate and dementia as the leading cause of death are two sides of the same coin. One note on the figures. An earlier ONS release in May 2026 gave provisional numbers for 2025, with a slightly different mortality rate. This September release is the fuller annual publication, with the detailed cause and regional breakdowns. Where the two differ slightly, this is the later and more complete set. Male deaths rose 0.6% and female deaths rose 0.3% compared with 2024.
Practical advice
Statistics like these are national, and you are not a statistic. But there are a few things the figures genuinely point towards. 1. Heart disease is still the biggest single killer of men in England and Wales. The things that move it are well known and dull: blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, weight, activity, alcohol. If you are over 40 and have not had your blood pressure checked in the last five years, that is the single highest-value appointment available to you. Many pharmacies offer free blood pressure checks. 2. If you have been prescribed something for blood pressure or cholesterol, taking it consistently is most of the benefit. Medicines that sit in a cupboard do nothing. If you keep forgetting, say so — pharmacists can help with pill organisers, simpler timings and matched repeat dates. 3. On dementia, the evidence on reducing risk points at the same list plus hearing. Treating hearing loss, staying socially and mentally active, controlling blood pressure in mid-life, not smoking, and staying physically active all appear in the research. None of it is a guarantee. 4. If you are worried about memory — yours or someone else's — a GP appointment is worth making rather than waiting. A diagnosis opens doors to support that are closed without one. 5. If you live in one of the areas with higher death rates, that is not a verdict on you. It reflects a mix of income, work, housing, air quality and access to services. What it does mean is that local NHS checks and screening invitations are worth accepting when they arrive.
What to know
In 2025 there were 570,988 deaths registered in England and Wales, up 0.4% on 2024. But the age-adjusted death rate fell to 913 per 100,000 — the lowest the ONS has recorded since its series began in 1994. Rates for men and women both hit record lows. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease was the leading cause of death overall, with 72,272 deaths and 12.7% of the total. It was the leading cause for women, at 16.5% of female deaths. For men it was ischaemic heart disease, at 12.2%. The gap between places has not closed. The North East had England's highest death rates for the fourth year in a row, and Wales's rate was higher than England's. So: the country is, on average, dying later than it ever has. Where you live still changes the odds. And the causes that remain are ones where blood pressure checks, taking prescribed medicines properly, and early conversations about memory all genuinely count. Sources: Office for National Statistics, 'Deaths registered in England and Wales: 2025', 25 September 2026, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregistrationsummarytables/2025 ; Office for National Statistics, 'Death registration summary statistics, England and Wales: 2025', https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathregistrationsummarystatisticsenglandandwales/2025 ; Office for National Statistics, release calendar entry for 25 September 2026, https://www.ons.gov.uk/releasecalendar This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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