EU excess mortality at low levels in March 2023

In March 2023, excess mortality in the EU increased slightly compared with the previous month and stood at +0.3% above the baseline (average number of deaths for the same period in 2016-2019). This followed the positive developments of February 2023, when for the first time since February 2020 (pre-COVID-19 pandemic period), there was no excess mortality in the EU as a whole, with the indicator falling to -2%. 

In comparison, the excess mortality rate was almost 7% in March 2022 (30 000 additional deaths), 11% in March 2021 (33 000 additional deaths) and 14% in March 2020 (47 500 additional 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.

Source dataset: demo_mexrt

In March 2023, 16 EU countries recorded no excess deaths. Among those, Latvia (-14%), Romania (-13%) and Bulgaria (-10%) recorded the lowest excess mortality. 

Among the countries that observed excess deaths, the Netherlands (+12% above the national monthly average for 2016-19) and Greece (+10%) recorded the highest excess mortality rates. They were followed by Ireland and Austria (both +9%), Cyprus (+8%), Spain and Malta (both +6%), Portugal and Germany (both +4%) and Denmark (+1%).

The major peaks in excess deaths in the EU were registered 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 three 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.