WHO Reports 14.91 Million Global Excess Deaths from COVID-19... Three Times Official Count

Lower-Income Countries Show Larger Excess Mortality
Excess Mortality Confirmed in South Korea Since August 2021

The estimated global excess mortality scale by the World Health Organization (WHO). The red line represents the number of excess deaths, and the blue shaded area indicates the officially reported COVID-19 death toll.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] A recent study estimates that 14.91 million people worldwide have died directly or indirectly due to COVID-19 over the past two years.

On the 5th, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the global excess deaths from COVID-19 between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, were estimated to be around 14.91 million. The minimum estimate within the margin of error is 13.3 million, and the maximum is 16.6 million.

This figure is 2.75 times the approximately 5.42 million officially recorded COVID-19 deaths during the same period. It also exceeds the global cumulative death toll of about 6.24 million as of the 5th by 8.67 million.

According to WHO analysis, lower-income countries experienced larger scales of excess deaths. Countries with lower-middle income accounted for the largest share of 53% (about 7.87 million) of total excess deaths, followed by upper-middle-income countries at 28% (about 4.24 million). Low-income and high-income countries accounted for 4% and 15%, respectively.

By gender, males accounted for 57% and females 43%, indicating higher excess deaths among men.

WHO explained that the excess deaths counted include not only those directly related to COVID-19 but also deaths caused indirectly by the pandemic’s impact on healthcare systems and society. For example, people who could not receive treatment for diseases other than COVID-19 due to healthcare system overload.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “This (excess death) figure not only reflects the impact of the infectious disease COVID-19 but also shows that all countries need to invest in healthcare systems capable of maintaining essential medical services even during crises.”

Excess deaths due to COVID-19 have also been confirmed domestically. According to Statistics Korea, from August last year, deaths exceeding the maximum number recorded in the past three years have continuously occurred. Statistics Korea included lack of medical use due to COVID-19, stress from isolation, or domestic violence in the excess death classification. However, they also noted the possibility that factors other than COVID-19, such as aging and abnormal weather, may have contributed to the increase in excess deaths.

According to population trends announced last month, the number of deaths in February this year was 29,189, the highest ever recorded for February. This was an increase of 5,394 compared to the same period last year, of which 1,303 were COVID-19 deaths. The 4,091 non-COVID deaths may include excess deaths indirectly related to COVID-19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.