Top 25 Metrics Increasing in Northern Ireland (Focusing on Negative Indicators Like Delays)

Based on recent statistics from 2024-2025, here’s a compiled list of the top 25 metrics that have shown upward trends in Northern Ireland. These primarily cover areas like healthcare delays, economic pressures, social issues, and health challenges, ranked roughly by sector and significance based on reported increases. I’ve prioritized verifiable rises in negative indicators, such as waiting times, costs, and rates of distress.

1. Outpatient waiting times over 52 weeks: Increased by 62% in recent years, with many patients facing extended delays for specialist appointments.
2. Hospital admission waiting times over 52 weeks: Rose by 123%, contributing to the highest ever levels of inpatient delays.
3. A&E waiting times over 12 hours: Progressively increased post-pandemic, with higher proportions waiting excessively.
4. Median waiting time for hospital admission: Reached 35.1 weeks, reflecting growing backlogs in treatment access.
5. Percentage of patients waiting more than 13 weeks: Climbed to 68.9%, far exceeding targets and indicating systemic delays.
6. Number of patients awaiting hospital admission: Hit 91,645, underscoring the scale of healthcare delays.
7. Diagnostic waiting times: Persistently high, with quarterly reports showing ongoing rises in backlogs.
8. Emergency department attendances: Up by 2.5% in some months (e.g., June 2025 vs. 2024), straining resources.
9. Suicide rates (three-year rolling average): Rose to 238 in 2024, from 204.7 in 2017, highlighting a deepening crisis.
10. Number of registered suicide deaths: Increased to 290 in 2024, an 8% rise from 221 in 2023.
11. Adults reporting mental health concerns: Up to 38% in 2024/25, higher than previous years.
12. Diabetes prevalence: Grown by 30% over eight years, with 114,673 on the register in 2024. health-
13. Obesity rates among adults: Reaching 28% classified as obese, contributing to rising health issues.
14. Child poverty rates (relative income): At 25% (115,000 children) in 2023/24, with concerns of further rises.
15. Overall child poverty after housing costs: Rising to around 14-18%, affecting vulnerable families.
16. Fuel poverty rates: Projected to increase slightly to 11.2% in 2025, amid energy cost pressures.
17. Economic inactivity rate: Persistently high, consistently above UK levels from 2010 to 2025.
18. Unemployment rate: Slightly rising, with reports of increases in inactivity and joblessness.
19. House prices (annual growth): Up 9.5% in Q1 2025, outpacing UK averages and worsening affordability.
20. Electricity prices: Increased by 4% for many providers in late 2025, adding to cost-of-living burdens.
21. Drug offences: Showing increases amid overall crime declines, per recent trends. agendani.com
22. Race hate incidents: Over 2,000 recorded in 12 months, indicating rising tensions. nisra.gov.uk
23. Special school pupil numbers: Rose by 17% from 2020 to 2025, reflecting more identified needs.
24. Educational attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils: Persisting and widening in key metrics like GCSEs.
25. Cost of living inflation: At 3.9% in August 2025, contributing to broader economic pressures.

Note: While some metrics like crime overall have decreased, I’ve focused on those with clear upward trends. Data is drawn from official sources like NISRA, DoH, and PSNI, with many stalled or high levels exacerbating issues. For positive metrics that are rising (e.g., house prices in a growth sense), they’ve been included only where they imply negative impacts like reduced accessibility.