This article contains the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths per population as of 2 December 2025, by country. It also has cumulative death totals by country. For these numbers over time see the tables, graphs, and maps at COVID-19 pandemic deaths and COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory.
This data reflects entire populations and does not adjust for age-specific risk. According to U.S. CDC data, COVID-19 has had markedly different impacts across demographics, with factors such as pre-existing conditions, socioeconomic status, and urban versus rural residency influencing outcomes. For example, the CDC reported that as 27 April 2021, the reported case fatality ratios were 0.015%, 0.15%, 2.3%, and 17% for the age groups 0–17, 18–49, 50–74, and 75 or over, respectively.[1] Similar patterns were observed in other countries, with older populations consistently experiencing higher mortality, emphasizing the critical role of age distribution in pandemic modeling.
Data reliability
Variation between testing programmes worldwide results in different ascertainment rates per country: not every SARS-CoV-2 infection, nor every COVID-19-related death, will be identified. Additionally, testing availability, public compliance with testing, and differences in healthcare infrastructure further complicate accurate reporting. Some deaths may be wrongly attributed to COVID-19 (for example if all suspected COVID-19 deaths are counted as COVID-19 deaths, for example, Belgium counted suspected deaths as confirmed cases in September 2020, and Public Health England initially counted all deaths after a positive test "to be sure not to underestimate the number of COVID-19 related deaths", while Scotland reported all deaths within 28 days of such a positive test).[2][3] Therefore, according to WHO analyses, the true numbers of infections and deaths are expected to excceed the confirmed numbers everywhere, though the extent will vary by country.[4] These statistics are therefore less suitable for between-country comparisons. As deaths are easier to identify than infections (which are regularly asymptomatic), the true case fatality rate (CFR) is likely lower than the observed CFR. Underreporting is especially severe in countries with limited healthcare access or conflict zones, where both testing and vital registration systems are incomplete.
Reports from Socialstyrelsen in Sweden indicate 20,797 cases of Covid-19 deaths as of 2024-10-15[5] which differs from the table below.
Causes of variation in true CFRs between countries, include variations in age and overall health of the population, medical care, and classification of deaths.[6] For instance, countries with higher prevalence of comorbidities such as diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease often experienced elevated mortality rates even among younger age groups.
Excess mortality provides a broader estimate of these numbers. According to WHO, it includes both "direct COVID-19 and indirect, non-COVID-19 deaths".[7] They compare overall mortality with that of previous years, and as such also include the potentially vast number of deaths among people with unconfirmed COVID-19. These statistics have been crucial for understanding the broader societal impact of the pandemic, including deaths due to delayed healthcare, mental health crises, and economic stressors.
Examples from specific countries
Russia
COVID cases in Russia
According to excess-mortality analyses, Russia's total COVID-19 deaths in 2020 were estimated to exceed 186,000[8]while confirmed COVID-19 deaths were at 56,271.[9] This discrepancy reflects not only under-testing but also policy-driven reporting choices and limited transparency in regional reporting systems.
The Netherlands
COVID in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, excess-mortality estimates indicate arounds 20,000 deaths from COVID-19 in 2020,[10] while only the death of 11,525 identified COVID-19 cases was registered.[9] The official count of COVID-19 deaths as of December 2021 is slightly more than 5.4 million, according to World Health Organization's report in May 2022. WHO also said that the real numbers are far higher than the official tally because of unregistered deaths in countries without adequate reporting.[11] WHO emphasized that undercoutning remains a global issue, particularly in low and middle-income countries where civil registration and death certification are incomplete.
China
The number of reported deaths and cases in China is likely severely undercounted. Multiple independent studies estimate China's true COVID-19 death toll may be between one to two million, rather than the official count of 122,398.[12][13] This is partly due to how deaths caused by COVID-19 are counted. Only deaths occurring in hospitals are included.[14] Furthermore, regional disparities in reporting and sudden changes in testing strategy contributed to challenges in determining the actual mortality burden.
Age and gender adjusted mortality
COVID‑19 mortality varies substantially by age, with older populations experiencing disproportionately higher fatality rates. According to provisional CDC mortality data, COVID‑19 death rates per 100,000 population rise steeply with age, from under 1 in young children to over 1,395 per 100,000 in those aged 85+ in 2021.[15] CDC data also indicate4s that men experienced higher mortality rates, with 208,718 men passing in 2020 and 175,818 females passing. This number spiked to 258,507 and 202,006 in 2021. Biological, behavioral, and occupational factors may contribute to these differences, including a higher prevalence of comorbidities among men and differntial exposure risk.
According to one comparative study of European countries, “once differences in population age distributions are taken into account, variations in mortality rates between countries are considerably smaller”, and highlighted the importance of age-standardized mortality for international comparisons.[16] Age-standardized mortality is critical for assessing international comparisons accurately.These metrics allow policymakers and researchers to distinguish the impact of the disease itself from demographic factors that influence observed death rates.
Timeline of reporting changes and policy shifts
Throughout the pandemic, many countries revised their case and death reporting systems. Public Health England changed its definition, counting deaths within 28 days of a positive test, noting: “death in a person with a laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 test and died within (equal to or less than) 28 days of the first positive specimen date.”[17] A technical review later noted that “the UK daily COVID death counts … were changed to report deaths within 28 days of a first [positive test].”[18] At the global level, the World Health Organization noted changes in international reporting frequency beginning in 2023. As the organization stated, “a number of countries have stopped reporting or changed their frequency … As of 25 August 2023, WHO declared that it is no longer necessary … to report daily counts."[19] WHO further cautioned that “case detection, definitions, testing strategies, reporting practice, and lag times … differ between countries. This variability makes longitudinal analyses challenging and requires careful interpretation of trends over time. Countries also introduced retroactive adjustments, further complicating historical data comparisons.
Table of total cases, deaths, and death rates by country
↑Countries which do not report data for a column are not included in that column's world total.
↑Data on member states of the European Union are individually listed, but are also summed here for convenience. They are not double-counted in world totals.
Total confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million people by country:[21][note 3][note 4]
See date at top of map.Total confirmed COVID cases by country at the start.
Regional overviews
Significant regional disparities in COVID-19 mortality reflect demography, vaccination, surveillance capacity, and timing. According to WHO, as of March 2023, “43% [of global reported COVID-19 deaths] were in the Region of the Americas,” followed by “32%” in Europe and “12%” in South-East Asia.The remaining WHO regions—Western Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, and Africa—accounted for “14%” of global deaths.[22] These variations are influenced by population density, public health infrastructure, vaccine rollout, and pre-existing healthcare inequalities. Additionally, cultural factors, mobility patterns, and government interventions significantly affected the timing and magnitude of mortality waves.
COVID-19 death rates according to vaccination status in the US.
Comparison with other global health threats
The WHO estimates that “COVID-19 was directly responsible for 8.7 million deaths in 2021,” making it one of the world’s leading causes of death that year.[23] However, it did not exceed major chronic diseases: “The world’s biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 13% of the world’s total deaths.” Lower respiratory infections (non-COVID) remained “the fifth leading cause of death in 2021.”[24] COVID-19’s mortality risk strongly increases with age. Analysis by Think Global Health notes that while children and adolescents face minimal direct mortality, indirect effects such as missed education, malnutrition, and mental health deterioration add significant long-term health burdens. [25] After adjusting for under-reporting, analyses found COVID-19 ranked among the top three causes of death in several regions, including the second leading cause in the Americas and third in Europe.[26]
The pandemic also produced substantial indirect health impacts. Cardiovascular mortality rose markedly during periods of healthcare disruption, according to a science journal: “in the early months of the pandemic, studies showed a significant increase in deaths from CVD compared to … 2019,” and these elevated levels “persisted until early 2022.”[27] Other indirect effects shown included excess mortality due to untreated chronic conditions, reduced vaccination coverage for other infectious diseases, and increased mental health crises. Health systems worldwide experienced strain that exposed vulnerabilities in both high and low-resource settings.
Summary
COVID-19 has demonstrated a highly age-dependent mortality profile, with older populations experiencing disproportionately higher fatality rates. Mortality rates have varied over time due to changes in reporting practices, public health interventions, virus variants, and vaccine rollout. Regional differences reflect disparities in healthcare access, population age structures, and policy responses. Comparison with other global health threats emphasizes COVID-19's significant impact relative to chronic diseases. Age and gender-adjusted mortality analyses provide a clearer understanding of the pandemic's burden across populations, highlighting the importance of protective measures for vulnerable groups. The pandemic underscores the critical role of timely, accurate data reporting and international cooperation in mitigating the effects of emerging diseases. Furthermore, COVID-19 highlighted systemic inequalities and the long-term societal implications of global health crisis.
↑Our World in Data (OWID). See Coronavirus Source Data for OWID sourcing info. Excerpt: "Deaths and cases: our data source. Our World in Data relies on data from Johns Hopkins University. ... JHU updates its data multiple times each day. This data is sourced from governments, national and subnational agencies across the world — a full list of data sources for each country is published on Johns Hopkins GitHub site. It also makes its data publicly available there."
↑Our World in Data (OWID) maps and graphs on cases and deaths. Click on the download tab to download the image. The table tab has a table of the exact data by country. The source tab says the data is from the COVID-19 Data Repository by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. The image at the source is interactive and provides more detail. For example, for maps run your cursor over the color bar legend to see the countries that apply to that point in the legend. For graphs run your cursor over the graph for more info. See Coronavirus Source Data for more OWID sourcing info.
↑Beaney, Thomas; Clarke, Jonathan M; Jain, Vageesh; Golestaneh, Amelia Kataria; Lyons, Gemma; Salman, David; Majeed, Azeem (2020). "Excess mortality: the gold standard in measuring the impact of COVID-19 worldwide?". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 113 (9): 329–334. doi:10.1177/0141076820956802. ISSN0141-0768. PMC7488823. PMID32910871. Russia's case definition for a COVID-19 death, for example, relies solely on results from autopsy, unlike most European countries.6 Death must have been due directly to COVID-19, so it is not counted if a patient was found to have COVID-19 but it did not cause their death.6,7 This will lead to significant underreporting, especially as Russia has one of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases worldwide and yet has a case fatality rate of only 1.7% as of 31 July 2020.3 Spain's definition requires a positive polymerase chain reaction or antibody test for COVID-19, with only hospital deaths included in the death count despite a significant number of deaths from COVID-19 in the community and care homes.8,9 Belgium, by contrast, has one of the broadest definitions for a COVID-19 death, including all suspected cases. Care home deaths in Belgium account for around half of all excess deaths, but only 26% of care home deaths were confirmed (rather than suspected) COVID-19,10 leading to possible overcounting relative to other countries.11
↑Beaney, Thomas; Clarke, Jonathan M; Jain, Vageesh; Golestaneh, Amelia Kataria; Lyons, Gemma; Salman, David; Majeed, Azeem (2020). "Excess mortality: the gold standard in measuring the impact of COVID-19 worldwide?". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 113 (9): 329–334. doi:10.1177/0141076820956802. ISSN0141-0768. PMC7488823. PMID32910871. Under the assumption that the incidence of other diseases remains steady over time, then excess deaths can be viewed as those caused both directly and indirectly by COVID-19 and gives a summary measure of the 'whole system' impact. ... Despite this, when seeking to understand the full impact of deaths due to COVID-19 and explain why excess deaths vary, there is a need to distinguish the component parts – of direct COVID-19 and indirect, non-COVID-19 deaths.
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