Covid-19 death toll far higher than official numbers, says WHO

The World Health Organisation estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic caused 22.1 million excess deaths globally between 2020 and 2023. The figure is more than three times higher than the officially reported 7 million COVID deaths worldwide.

In Short

• Excess deaths included missed treatment, overwhelmed hospitals and lockdown-linked disruptions
• The year 2021 saw 10.4 million excess deaths during the worst wave
• Men faced nearly 50% higher age-standardised mortality than women in 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic may have claimed far more lives than official figures suggest, according to a new analysis by the World Health Organisation. The global health agency has estimated that around 22.1 million excess deaths occurred worldwide between 2020 and 2023 because of the pandemic and its indirect effects.

This number is significantly higher than the approximately 7 million Covid-19 deaths officially reported by countries during the same period. The findings reveal the enormous global impact of the pandemic and also highlight major weaknesses in how many countries collect and report mortality data.

The WHO said that excess deaths include not only deaths caused directly by Covid-19 infection but also deaths linked indirectly to the pandemic. These indirect deaths may have occurred because hospitals were overwhelmed, medical care was delayed, healthcare workers were unavailable, or people could not access treatment for other diseases during lockdowns and healthcare disruptions.

The report paints a clearer picture of how deeply the pandemic affected health systems and communities across the world. While many countries focused on reporting confirmed Covid deaths, experts believe millions of additional deaths may have gone undocumented due to limited testing, incomplete records, or weak healthcare infrastructure.

According to the WHO, the deadliest phase of the pandemic was in 2021, when the world recorded an estimated 10.4 million excess deaths. This was the period when more dangerous variants of the coronavirus spread rapidly across countries, putting immense pressure on healthcare systems already struggling with shortages of oxygen, ICU beds, medicines, and medical staff.

Although excess mortality began declining after 2021, the impact continued in the following years. In 2023 alone, an estimated 3.3 million excess deaths were still recorded globally, showing that the effects of the pandemic lasted well beyond the peak waves of infection.

The report also found a clear gender difference in mortality rates. Men consistently had higher excess mortality than women throughout the pandemic. At the peak in 2021, age-standardised mortality rates among men were nearly 50% higher than among women.

Experts believe several factors may explain this trend, including higher rates of chronic diseases among men, greater exposure through certain jobs, lifestyle-related health risks, and differences in healthcare-seeking behaviour.

Age was another major factor linked to excess deaths. The WHO noted that mortality rates increased sharply among older populations. People aged 85 years and above experienced excess mortality rates that were around 10 times higher than those of younger adults.

Older adults were particularly vulnerable because many already had underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disorders, or weakened immune systems, which increased the risk of severe Covid complications.

The WHO also highlighted an important finding related to population structure. Countries with older populations naturally recorded higher crude mortality rates. However, after adjusting for age and sex differences, researchers found that several low- and lower-middle-income countries experienced a much greater underlying impact from the pandemic than raw numbers initially suggested.

This means poorer nations may have suffered more heavily than official statistics reveal, largely because many of them lack reliable systems for registering deaths and monitoring health data.

The report raised concerns over serious gaps in global mortality reporting. Many countries still do not have complete or timely death registration systems. In some places, deaths are not recorded properly or the cause of death is never identified, making it difficult to measure the true scale of health emergencies.

The WHO stressed that better mortality tracking systems are essential for responding to future pandemics and public health crises. Reliable data helps governments understand which populations are most at risk, where healthcare resources are needed, and how quickly interventions should be implemented.

Health experts say the findings are a reminder that the Covid-19 pandemic was not only a viral outbreak but also a large-scale disruption that affected nearly every aspect of healthcare worldwide. Millions of people may have died not just from the virus itself, but from the collapse or interruption of essential medical services during the crisis.

The report also underlines the importance of stronger healthcare systems, better preparedness, and transparent data reporting. As countries continue to recover from the pandemic, global health agencies believe that investing in public health infrastructure and emergency response systems will be crucial in preventing similar devastation in the future.

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