Excess mortality in the EU increased slightly in October 2022, after dropping in August and September. This followed a peak of +17% in July, which is the highest value to date in 2022 and unusually high for the month of July. Excess mortality in October 2022 was +10% of the average number of deaths for the same period in 2016-2019, and is +0.5% compared with September 2022. There were around 31 000 additional deaths in October 2022.
Compared with the same months of previous years, the excess mortality rate was +17 % in October 2020 (66 000 excess deaths) and +18 % in October 2021 (69 000 excess deaths).
This information comes from data on excess mortality published by Eurostat today, based on weekly deaths data collection. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on excess mortality and weekly deaths.
Excess mortality rates continued to vary across the EU Member States. All Member States registered positive rates except for Romania (-7 %) and Bulgaria (-2 %).
The highest rates in October 2022 were recorded in Germany (+23 %), Malta and the Netherlands (both +19 %). Meanwhile, after Romania and Bulgaria, the next lowest rates were recorded in Sweden (+1 %), Slovakia (+2 %), Italy (+3 %). Croatia and Hungary (both +4 %), all less than half of the EU average.
The EU registered earlier major peaks in excess deaths in April 2020 (+25 %), November 2020 (+40 %), April 2021 (+21 %) and November 2021 (+27 %).
How did the situation evolve in your country?
Although excess mortality was observed during most of the past two years across Europe, the peaks and intensity of outbreaks varied greatly between countries. For further analysis, you can read the Statistics Explained article on excess mortality and use the interactive tool by selecting the country you would like to analyse.
For more information:
- Statistics Explained article on excess mortality
- Statistics Explained article on weekly deaths
- Thematic section on population & demography
Methodological notes:
- Excess mortality refers to the number of deaths from all causes measured during a crisis, above what could be observed in ‘normal’ conditions. The excess mortality indicator draws attention to the magnitude of the health crisis by providing a comprehensive comparison of additional deaths amongst European countries and allows for further analysis of the causes.
- Please note that while a substantial increase in excess mortality largely coincides with the COVID-19 outbreak, this indicator does not discriminate among the causes of death and does not identify differences between sex or age.