1% decrease in inquest conclusions recorded, with the largest decrease seen in natural causes of all deaths reported to coroners in 2025
Dr Martin Harris
The annual publication presents statistics of deaths reported to Coroners in England and Wales in 2025.
1% decrease in inquest conclusions recorded, with the largest decrease seen in natural causes.
In 2025, 39,118 inquest conclusions were recorded, down 1% on 2024. Inquest conclusions of natural causes had the largest decrease, down 24% on 2024, to 3,729, and, excluding unclassified conclusions, road traffic collision had the largest increase, up 3% on 2024, to 978.
There were 39,118 inquest conclusions recorded in 2025, down 468 (1%) from 2024, in part reflecting the decrease in the number of inquests opened. This is the lowest level since 2022. The decrease was driven by conclusions for female deaths (down 4%). Conclusions for male deaths remained stable. Of the inquests concluded 6,448 were inquests in writing, up 2,060 (47%) from 2024, and 18,048 were rule 23 inquests (when written evidence is admitted at an inquest hearing in lieu of oral evidence).
Conclusions are recorded at the culmination of the inquest. This means that the conclusions recorded in a certain year may relate to deaths that occurred in the same year or in earlier years.
In 2025, the most common short form conclusions (by order of frequency) were death by misadventure (9,724 or 25% of all conclusions), suicide (5,298 or 14%) and drugs and alcohol (4,659 or 12%).
The number of suicide conclusions increased by 1% compared to 2024. The increase was driven by male suicides (up 3% compared with 2024), while female suicides decreased (down 4% compared with 2024). The proportion of conclusions recorded as suicide has remained broadly constant over the past eight years, with an increase from 13% of all conclusions in 2024 to 14% in 2025. This proportion varies from 3% in City of London to 36% in Ceredigion.
Industrial disease conclusions fell by 5% in the last year (to 1,828 cases), the lowest level since 1996.
In 2025, natural cause conclusions decreased by 24% to 3,729, possibly due to the effect of the statutory medical examiner system introduced in September 2024, which is designed to ensure that deaths are scrutinsed, certified and where necessary investigated in the appropriate part of the death management system.
In 2025, the number of unclassified conclusions increased by 848 cases (up 8%) to 11,686. Unclassified conclusions made up 30% of all inquest conclusions in 2025, an increase in proportion by two percentage points compared with the 2024 amount. The term “unclassified” is a way of recording an outcome where the coroner or jury do not rely on just one of the short-form conclusions, or where a narrative conclusion or rider (which may or may not be accompanied by a short-form conclusion) is returned by the coroner or jury. Self-Induced Abortion, Want of Attention at Birth and Disaster conclusions are included in the Unclassified conclusions figure.
For the remaining short-form conclusion types, alcohol/drugs related deaths decreased by 32 cases (down 1%) to 4,659, ending the rising trend seen since the conclusion type was introduced in 2014. Road traffic collisions increased by 25 cases (up 3%) to 978.
Open conclusions have decreased over the last decade – they accounted for 3% of all inquests concluded in 2025 compared with 5% in 2015. Year on year, open conclusions decreased by 5% compared with 2024.
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Dr Martin Harris