Deaths of West African migrants pre- and post-COVID

FOI reference: FOI-2024-2323

You asked

Could you kindly provide me with data on deaths of West African Migrants pre and post COVID, and relevant comparisons from your holdings.

We said

Thank you for your request. 

We are responsible for the production of Mortality statistics for England and Wales, this is driven by information collected from the death certificate at death registration. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk .  

Until September 2024, ethnicity has not been collected on the death certificate. However, we have linked death registration data to the 2011 and 2021 Censuses to produce the analysis linked below regarding deaths by ethnicity. Unfortunately, the ethnicity collected does not go to a level granular enough to stipulate West African descent, so we do not hold the information requested. 

Please see the associated download for classifications of ethnic groups as collected in the Census.

The following existing publications showing deaths by ethnicity, in case this is helpful:

• Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales 

• Updating ethnic contrasts in deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19), England 

• Inequalities in mortality involving common physical health conditions, England: 21 March 2021 to 31 January 2023 

• Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in England and Wales: 2011 to 2021 

For further information, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk