Covid-19 deaths: Which governments have failed?

Posted by in Economics, Health, Politics

The latest worldwide average death rate per one million people is 35, up from 31 a week ago. Figures are from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control situation report to Saturday 9th May. Here’s the updated list of countries with death rates more than twice that average:

Country Deaths per million
San Marino 1208
Belgium 735
Andorra 608
Spain 561
Italy 500
The United Kingdom 460
France 402
Sint Maarten 350
Sweden 314
Netherlands 313
Ireland 289
Isle of Man 270
United States of America 233
Montserrat 200
Switzerland 176
Luxembourg 160
Canada 121
Bermuda 112
Portugal 109
Monaco 102
Ecuador 97
Denmark 90
Germany 88
Iran 78

Death rates are the best measures of a national government’s effectiveness, because in many countries with poor pandemic management, the total number of cases is under-reported.

From these results, it is clear that many nations which put business ahead of evidence-based health advice have higher death rates. Some nations with lower death rates have also benefited from being able to learn from nations hit earlier, or due to low visitor numbers from China. Others had established pandemic testing expertise and/or social isolation cultures for influenza, and possibly better immune profiles yet to be understood.

We are all still at an early stage of this crisis and the long term picture is still unclear. These results will be revised each weekend, or you can view a chart and add your own selection of countries at this link: Ourworldindata.org

Under-reported of deaths in the UK are now being revised, but many other nations will never report accurate totals. Citizens there can only get an indication of trend from public statistics, but must judge the true scale of deaths from community and hospital experience.

Full table for all countries below.

Territory/Area Country Deaths per million
Europe San Marino 1208
Europe Belgium 735
Europe Andorra 608
Europe Spain 561
Europe Italy 500
Europe The United Kingdom 460
Europe France 402
Americas Sint Maarten 350
Europe Sweden 314
Europe Netherlands 313
Europe Ireland 289
Europe Isle of Man 270
Americas United States of America 233
Americas Montserrat 200
Europe Switzerland 176
Europe Luxembourg 160
Americas Canada 121
Americas Bermuda 112
Europe Portugal 109
Europe Monaco 102
Americas Ecuador 97
Europe Denmark 90
Europe Germany 88
Eastern Mediterranean Iran 78
Europe Austria 68
Americas Panama 54
Americas Peru 52
Europe Slovenia 48
Americas Brazil 47
Europe Finland 47
Europe Romania 47
Europe Turkey 44
Europe North Macedonia 43
Europe Estonia 42
Europe Hungary 42
Europe Norway 39
Americas US Virgin Islands 38
Europe Republic of Moldova 38
Americas Puerto Rico 37
Americas Dominican Republic 35
Western Pacific Northern Mariana Islands 35
Americas British Virgin Islands 33
Americas Antigua and Barbuda 31
Europe Serbia 31
Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina 30
Western Pacific Guam 30
Europe Iceland 29
Americas Aruba 28
Americas Bahamas 28
Europe Israel 28
Americas Turks and Caicos Islands 26
Europe Liechtenstein 26
Americas Mexico 25
Europe Czechia 25
Americas Barbados 24
Europe Cyprus 24
Africa São Tomé, Príncipe 23
Europe Croatia 21
Europe Poland 21
Eastern Mediterranean United Arab Emirates 18
Europe Lithuania 18
Americas Cayman Islands 15
Americas Chile 15
Europe Armenia 15
Europe Greece 14
Europe Kosovo 14
Americas Guyana 13
Europe Belarus 13
Europe Bulgaria 13
Europe Montenegro 13
Europe Russian Federation 12
Africa Algeria 11
Americas Honduras 11
Eastern Mediterranean Kuwait 11
Europe Albania 11
Europe Malta 11
Europe Latvia 10
Americas Bolivia 9
Africa Mauritius 8
Americas Colombia 8
Europe Ukraine 8
Americas Cuba 7
Eastern Mediterranean Saudi Arabia 7
Americas Argentina 6
Americas Curaçao 6
Americas Trinidad and Tobago 6
South-East Asia Maldives 6
Western Pacific Philippines 6
Americas Belize 5
Americas Uruguay 5
Eastern Mediterranean Bahrain 5
Eastern Mediterranean Egypt 5
Eastern Mediterranean Morocco 5
Europe Slovakia 5
Western Pacific Japan 5
Western Pacific Republic of Korea 5
Africa Cabo Verde 4
Africa Cameroon 4
Africa Gabon 4
Africa Liberia 4
Eastern Mediterranean Lebanon 4
Eastern Mediterranean Qatar 4
Eastern Mediterranean Tunisia 4
Western Pacific Australia 4
Western Pacific New Zealand 4
Africa Equatorial Guinea 3
Africa South Africa 3
Americas Jamaica 3
Eastern Mediterranean Afghanistan 3
Eastern Mediterranean Djibouti 3
Eastern Mediterranean Iraq 3
Eastern Mediterranean Oman 3
Eastern Mediterranean Pakistan 3
Eastern Mediterranean Somalia 3
Europe Azerbaijan 3
Europe Georgia 3
South-East Asia Indonesia 3
Western Pacific China 3
Western Pacific Malaysia 3
Western Pacific Singapore 3
Africa Burkina Faso 2
Africa Chad 2
Africa Congo 2
Africa Eswatini 2
Africa Mali 2
Africa Niger 2
Africa Sierra Leone 2
Americas El Salvador 2
Americas Suriname 2
Europe Kazakhstan 2
Europe Kyrgyzstan 2
Western Pacific Brunei Darussalam 2
Africa Côte d’Ivoire 1
Africa Ghana 1
Africa Guinea 1
Africa Guinea-Bissau 1
Africa Kenya 1
Africa Nigeria 1
Africa Senegal 1
Africa Togo 1
Americas Costa Rica 1
Americas Guatemala 1
Americas Haiti 1
Americas Nicaragua 1
Americas Paraguay 1
Eastern Mediterranean Jordan 1
Eastern Mediterranean Palestine 1
Eastern Mediterranean Sudan 1
South-East Asia Bangladesh 1
South-East Asia India 1
South-East Asia Thailand 1
Africa Angola 0
Africa Benin 0
Africa Botswana 0
Africa Burundi 0
Africa Democratic Republic Congo 0
Africa Ethiopia 0
Africa Gambia 0
Africa Malawi 0
Africa Mauritania 0
Africa Tanzania 0
Africa Zambia 0
Africa Zimbabwe 0
Americas Venezuela 0
Eastern Mediterranean Libya 0
Eastern Mediterranean Syrian Arab Republic 0
Eastern Mediterranean Yemen 0
Europe Uzbekistan 0
South-East Asia Myanmar 0
South-East Asia Sri Lanka 0
Western Pacific Taiwan 0
Africa Central African Republic
Africa Eritrea
Africa Madagascar
Africa Mozambique
Africa Namibia
Africa Rwanda
Africa Seychelles
Africa South Sudan
Africa Uganda
Americas Anguilla
Americas Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba
Americas Dominica
Americas Falkland Islands
Americas Grenada
Americas Saint Kitts and Nevis
Americas Saint Lucia
Americas Saint Vincent, Grenadines
Europe Faroe Islands
Europe Gibraltar
Europe Greenland
Europe Holy See
South-East Asia Bhutan
South-East Asia Nepal
South-East Asia Timor-Leste
Western Pacific Cambodia
Western Pacific Fiji
Western Pacific French Polynesia
Western Pacific Laos
Western Pacific Mongolia
Western Pacific New Caledonia
Western Pacific Papua New Guinea
Western Pacific Viet Nam

Source: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) – Situation Report Worldwide, 9 May 2020.