WHO (ed.): 14.9 million excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, in: www.who.int-News (May 5, 2022).
Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the total number of deaths directly or indirectly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (described as “excess mortality”) between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, will be about 14.9 million. (Range 13.3 million to 16.6 million).
The highest excess mortality was concentrated in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas, with 68% of excess mortality recorded in just 10 countries. Middle-income countries (81%) were particularly affected, in contrast to high-income (15%) and low-income (4%) countries. On the occasion of these figures, there is a need to invest in more resilient health (information) systems, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.