2017 saw the number of alcohol related deaths in Northern Ireland increase for the fourth consecutive year to the highest on record. The statistics show that 303 of the 16,036 deaths registered in Northern Ireland in 2017 were due to alcohol related causes. This is almost 30 per cent more than was recorded a decade previously (238) and 70 per cent more than 2001 when the time series began (178). However alcohol related deaths continue to account for less than 2% of total deaths registered each year. As in previous years the number of alcohol related deaths is higher among males, accounting for 70 per cent (212) of the 2017 total. The largest number of alcohol related deaths continued to occur in those aged between 45 and 54 years.