Prior to the publication of the Vital Statistics Annual Report 2022, a review was carried out on the content and number of tables contained within the report. This review has resulted in a reduction in the number of tables in the publication and the adoption of a new format and layout. However, there has been no reduction in the data outputs as all data is available through the CSO’s PxStat platform.
As part of this review the Appendix chapter within this report has also been omitted. These tables provide a breakdown of deaths registered in 2022 but occurred prior to 2021. A version of this table was already produced as part of the 2022 yearly summary (published in May 2023). Moreover, both VSA35 and VSA112 which have been introduced by the CSO provide updated death occurrence data at a more granular breakdown and in an open data format.
All figures in this report are classified by year of occurrence.
Deaths are classified to the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Classification of Diseases, Version 10 (ICD-10).
The Underlying Cause of Death (UCOD) has been defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as
(a) the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death
or
(b) the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.
From 1st January 2018 the CSO is using IRIS software to assign the UCOD. IRIS is a European developed automated coding software, endorsed by Eurostat and is maintained by the IRIS Institute and all WHO updates to the ICD-10 classification are accounted for in IRIS according to the WHO timelines.
Inquest deaths are coded manually due to the nature of the reporting of these cases. The difficulty lies in automatically assigning a verdict from a broad range of verdicts open to a Coroner or jury which include accidental death, misadventure, suicide, open verdict, natural causes (if so found at inquest) and in certain circumstances, unlawful killing.
According to the Irish Stillbirths Registration Act, 1994 a stillbirth is defined as a child born weighing 500g or more or having a gestational age of 24 weeks or more who shows no sign of life.
Since the 2021 Annual Report, if birthweight or gestational age are not written into the narrative of the medical certificate then a weight factor or a gestational age are not considered as a part of the causal sequence in determining the Underlying Cause of Death (UCOD).
Birth and death rates are calculated using 2022 residence census of population figures.
Usual Residence Population concept: From 2007 onwards, the population concept of usual residence has been used, i.e. all persons usually resident and present in the State on census night, plus absent persons who are usually resident in Ireland, but are temporarily away from home and outside the State on Census night. All persons are classified according to the region of their usual residence.
Prior to 2007 the de facto population concept was used, i.e. the total persons resident in the State on Census night.
Census of population data is used to calculate rates for Census years and estimated Census of population data is used to calculate rates for intercensal years.
Please note from the Annual Report 2022 that the calculation of rates, outside of census year, for births and deaths utilise the population estimates at the time of compilation. Therefore, these rates may differ to those produced post intercensal revision of population estimates.
From January 2018 onwards, where births take place within the State and the area of residence of the mother is outside the State, the area of residence of the mother is recorded as outside the State. Prior to this, births where the mother was residing outside the State were assigned to the location where the birth took place within the State.
Deaths not registered during the year of occurrence or in the subsequent 22 months were not available at the time of compilation of this report and so have not been included. Deaths classified as unnatural deaths must be referred to the local Coroner for investigation.
Investigations can take a protracted length of time to complete for various reasons (such as obtaining medical reports, health and safety reports, engineer’s reports, the involvement of the Director of Public Prosecutions, etc.) which delays the registration of such deaths in time for inclusion in the Vital Statistics Annual Report. The exclusion of these cases can have a relatively more significant effect on the number of deaths classified to some external causes.
The CSO publishes a table of late registered deaths from suicide, PxStat table VSD34, which provides a breakdown of such records by year of occurrence. The most recent data, published alongside this report, is for deaths registered in 2022 but which occurred in 2020 or earlier. For analysis of this data, see Deaths chapter of this publication. Any late registered deaths from suicide that occurred in 2022 will be recorded in future updates to PxStat table VSD34.
Example:
| Deaths from intentional self-harm which occurred in 2020 published in the 2020 annual report | = 465 | |
| Of which: | Males | 338 |
| Females | 127 | |
| Additional deaths from intentional self-harm which occurred in 2020 and were registered in 2022 | = 97 | |
| Bringing total to: | = 562 | |
| Subtotals: | Males | 338 + 68 = 406 |
| Females | 127 + 29 = 156 | |
PxStat tables VSD30 and VSD32 provide death occurrence data for suicide deaths at time of Annual Report publication, for all years up to 2022. Data for subsequent year/s is based on deaths registration figures.
For revised death occurrence data of suicide deaths – which incorporates late registered deaths with deaths previously reported at the time of Annual Report – see Cause of Death ‘X60-X84 Intentional self-harm’ in PxStat table VSA35. For a breakdown of revised suicide deaths at local authority level, see same Cause of Death in VSA112.
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is administered by Eurostat and defines territorial units for the production of regional statistics across the European Union.
Vital Statistics are published in some cases by geographic breakdown to NUTS-3 region. Current NUTS boundaries for Ireland came into effect from 1st January 2018 and were first reflected in CSO Vital Statistics for that reference year.
Those boundary revisions were prompted by legislative changes made in the Local Government Act, 2014, including merging of certain county and city council areas (local authorities). Each NUTS-3 region is a grouping of local authorities, and each NUTS-2 region is in turn a grouping of NUTS-3 regions. The three NUTS-2 regions correspond with the area covered by the Regional Assemblies also established under the 2014 Act. The composition of NUTS regions in Ireland is set out below.
| Northern & Western NUTS-2 Region | Southern NUTS-2 Region | Eastern & Midland NUTS-2 Region | |||
| Border | Cavan Donegal Leitrim Monaghan Sligo |
Mid-West | Clare Limerick Tipperary |
Dublin | Dublin City Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Fingal South Dublin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South-East | Carlow Kilkenny Waterford Wexford |
Mid-East | Kildare Louth Meath Wicklow |
||
| West | Galway Mayo Roscommon |
South-West | Cork Kerry |
Midland | Laois Longford Offaly Westmeath |
To view the NUTS boundaries on a map, see the Eurostat Statistical Atlas
See also Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003, the legal framework for the NUTS classification, and Regulation (EU) 2016/2066, covering revisions made to NUTS classification for Ireland.
The United Kingdom formally withdrew from the EU on the 31 January 2020. From the 1 February 2020 the EU is reduced to 27 Member States.
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. As it was only part of the EU for one month in 2020 - it is excluded as part of the EU-27 for the full year.
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