Eurostat have assessed the impact of the pandemic by looking at the excess mortality, i.e. the increase in the total number of deaths, from any cause, compared with deaths in the previous years.
In total, around 297,500 more deaths occurred in the EU between March and October 2020 compared with the same period in 2016 – 2019. With a peak during the early rise of Covid-19, the excess mortality in the EU was highest in April 2020, with an increase of 25% compared to the three years prior. Another peak of 17.1% was measured in October, with November expecting to have at least doubled (final data not yet complete).
Although the excess mortality was observed during the entire year across Europe, the peaks and intensity of outbreaks varied greatly across countries. With regards to Luxembourg, the number of deaths remained fairly stable before the first wave and throughout the summer, even decreasing in the months of January, February, June and July. In April, Luxembourg measured a peak of +19%; in November the excess mortality was a grim +46.7%. For Poland the figure was even +97%.
For monthly data per country, look here.
Read also: Slightly higher mortality rate observed between January and October 2020
