It is unusual for Statec to publish a report before the end of the year, but this time the interest in the evolution of mortality in the midst of a pandemic is such that the institute has decided to release some of its findings early on. In order to be able to compare the figures, only the first ten months of each year have been taken into account. According to Statec’s findings, the mortality rate between January and October, is not significantly higher in 2020 than in previous years.
However, looking closer at certain periods, it is possible to see a change, says François Peltier, demographer and head of the “population and housing” unit at Statec.
Peltier explains that, for example, there is an increase at the end of March and beginning of April. However, the causes of death have not yet been analysed; for this, Statec first requires all the data for the year 2020.
For the first ten months of the year, the average age of the deceased is 80 for women and 74 for men. These figures are quite similar to previous years.
As only the first ten months of the year have been evaluated, these statistics are provisional. However, as more than half of the Covid-19 deaths in Luxembourg were recorded in November and December, Statec expects the mortality rate over one year to be higher than in previous years.
What also needs to be taken into account is that although excess mortality due to the coronavirus is not particularly high in Luxembourg, Covid-19 patients require a high level of care in hospitals - unlike other causes of death. This is also the reason for the occupancy rate in the sector.
The complete figures are available on Statec.lu.
The report (in Luxembourgish):
