The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the “death toll associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic (described as “excess mortality”) between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million). 

Excess mortality is calculated as the difference between the number of deaths that have occurred and the number that would be expected in the absence of the pandemic based on data from earlier years.

“These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic but also to the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can sustain essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems to generate better data for better decisions and better outcomes.”

The organisation also said most of the excess deaths – 84 per cent — are concentrated in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas, while about 68 per cent of excess deaths are concentrated in just 10 countries globally.

Most of the excess deaths (84%) are concentrated in South-East Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Some 68% of excess deaths are concentrated in just 10 countries globally. Middle-income countries account for 81% of the 14.9 million excess deaths (53% in lower-middle-income countries and 28% in upper-middle-income countries) over the 24-month period, with high-income and low-income countries each accounting for 15% and 4%, respectively. 

WHO

It continues, “the estimates for a 24-month period (2020 and 2021) include a breakdown of excess mortality by age and sex. They confirm that the global death toll was higher for men than for women (57% male, 43% female) and higher among older adults. The absolute count of the excess deaths is affected by the population size. The number of excess deaths per 100,000 gives a more objective picture of the pandemic than reported COVID-19 mortality data.”

The figure is two times more than the reported six million deaths which have been recorded as a result of COVID – 6,244,913, including 515,594,423 cases as of Wednesday.