The world’s coronavirus death toll has hit 1 million - these are the worst affected countries

The real number is likely to be a lot higher (Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)The real number is likely to be a lot higher (Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
The real number is likely to be a lot higher (Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)

More than one million people globally have died as a result of contracting Covid-19 - the virus first identified in Wuhan, China, that quickly spread around the rest of the world.

Infections have been reported in over 210 countries and territories since the pandemic first began in December 2019.

Countries with the highest numbers of Covid-19 deaths

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Data from Johns Hopkins University has revealed the countries with the most recorded Covid-19 deaths.

The US has the world’s highest death toll, with around 205,000 fatalities. Brazil is second, with about 142,000.

India is third with 95,000 deaths, and it has the fastest infection rate. While India currently has around 5.9 million infections, India’s fatality rate is one of the lowest in the world, with experts saying that it could be because of factors such as the country's younger population.

Coming in at fourth is Mexico with around 76,000 and then making the top five is the UK, with 42,000 deaths.

After that, it’s:

  • Italy, with 35,800
  • Peru, with 32,100
  • France, with 31,400
  • Spain, with 31,200
  • Iran, with 25,500

The real number of deaths could be higher

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official said on 28 September that the official figures probably underestimate the true total.

Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, told a briefing in Geneva, “If anything, the numbers currently reported probably represent an underestimate of those individuals who have either contracted Covid-19 or died as a cause of it.

“When you count anything, you can’t count it perfectly but I can assure you that the current numbers are likely an underestimate of the true toll of Covid.”

How many more people will die?

Dr Ryan said that the number of global Covid-19 deaths could reach two million before an effective vaccine is found and widely circulated.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The figure could be even higher without concerted action to tackle the pandemic, he added.

He said, “It’s certainly unimaginable. But it’s not impossible, because if we look at losing a million people in nine months and then we look at the realities of getting a vaccine out in the next nine months, it’s a big task for everyone involved.

“There’s the issue of funding these vaccines. There’s the issue of distributing these vaccines and then the issues of acceptance. And beyond that, with the work we still have to do in controlling this disease. And remember, we have things we can do now to drive transmission down and drive down the number of deaths.”

Related topics: