Record 4.6k Deaths Confirmed in Luxembourg in 2020

According to STATEC, Luxembourg recorded a total of 4,649 deaths last year, the highest number on record since the mid-20th century.

In 2020, STATEC counted 4,649 deaths (all causes combined) among Luxembourg's resident population. This marks the highest number of deaths on record since 1976 (4,507 deaths).

The number of deaths in 2020 increased by 8.5% compared to 2019 (4,283 deaths) and by 7.7% compared to 2018 (4,318 deaths). COVID-19-related deaths represented 10.8% of deaths last year and 13.2% of deaths observed from mid-March on.

Since confirmation of the first COVID-19 death in Luxembourg, on 13 March 2020, until the end of December, STATEC counted 3,787 deaths from the National Registry of Natural Persons. This corresponds to 437 additional deaths compared to 2019 and 515 additional deaths compared to 2018. This difference largely coincides with the 501 deaths officially determined as resulting from COVID-19 communicated by the Ministry of Health during this period.

Compared to the monthly average of deaths recorded during the last two years, a higher number of deaths was observed in 2020 with the exception of the months of January, February, June and July during which time the number of deaths was lower or comparable. This observation was particularly true for the months of November and December 2020: STATEC recorded 149 additional deaths for November compared to the 2018/2019 average (up 39.1%) and 145 additional deaths for December compared to the average (up 38.9%).

As the population varies from year to year, the evolution of mortality is analysed through the mortality rate (i.e. the ratio of the number of deaths in a year to the total average population that year). This rate was 7.4 ‰ in 2020 - comparable to that of the early-2010s.

Based on a standardised mortality indicator, STATEC observed fourteen weeks of excess mortality last year. Moderate excess mortality was observed for weeks 13 (23-29 March), 16 (13-19 April), 19 (4-10 May), 33 (10-16 August) and 38 (14-20 September), as well as the first three weeks of November, week 49 (30 November to 6 December) and the last two weeks of December. A high excess mortality for week 48 (23-29 November) and a very high excess mortality rate for weeks 15 (6-12 April) and 51 (14-20 December) were observed. For the other weeks, there was no excess mortality compared to the reference period (2015 to 2019). The opposite (fewer deaths) was observed for weeks 7 (10-16 February) and 35 (24-30 August).

On a monthly basis, STATEC observed a moderate excess mortality for Luxembourg in April and November and a high excess mortality in December 2020.

Based on the standardized indicator, a difference could be noted between men and women in terms of excess mortality. The average age of those who died in 2020 was 80.4 years for women and 74.1 years for men. This average age was quite similar to previous years.