Most excess deaths are observed in winter; Credit: STATEC

The national statistics portal STATEC has reported that Luxembourg's mortality rate returned to a normal level in 2021.

STATEC recorded a total of 4,489 deaths among the Luxembourg resident population in 2021. This represents a decrease of 120 deaths compared to 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After an increase in deaths in 2020 (up 7.6% compared to 2019) amid the pandemic, the number of deaths in Luxembourg decreased by 2.6% over one year in 2021. STATEC suggested that this increase in the number of deaths in 2020 and 2021 would have been even greater without the various health measures put in place by the public authorities, such as lockdown periods, social distancing measures, the obligation to wear a mask and vaccination, among others.

STATEC counted 439 deaths in January, 361 in February and 418 in March 2021. These figures are higher than those recorded during the first quarter of 2020 (1,125 deaths; up 8.2%) but are similar to pre-COVID-19 figures (i.e. 2017 to 2019). During the second quarter of 2021, there were 1,019 deaths (up 4.7% compared to 2017-2019 but down 2.7% compared to 2020).

During the summer period, the number of deaths was generally lower. 989 deaths were recorded between July and September 2021, which corresponds to a decrease of 4.4% compared to 2020 and 0.9% compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. Conversely, the last quarter was generally the time when the most deaths were observed. This was particularly true for the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had been particularly deadly: 1,108 on average for the 2017-2019 period, compared to 1,403 in 2020 and 1,263 in 2021.

STATEC has also linked these developments to the growth of the population which was 1.7% between 1 January 2021 and 1 January 2022.

In 2020 and 2021 combined, 916 people died from COVID-19, representing 11.0% of all deaths in 2020 and 9.0% in 2021.

Among the deaths observed in 2021, men were slightly more represented (51.1%) than women. The average age of the deceased was 80.7 for women and 74.7 for men. In 2021, one-quarter of deaths concerned people under the age of 70, while one-quarter were people aged 89 or over.

In 2020, this rate was 7.3‰, the highest recorded in recent years. In 2021, the mortality rate had fallen to 7.0‰, which corresponds to that recorded just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Life expectancy at birth in Luxembourg has been little impacted by the health crisis and stands at 84.8 years for women and 80.3 years for men. STATEC has attributed this to the fact that COVID-19 has mainly impacted the oldest people, for whom the probability of dying is already the greatest.

STATEC also noted that excess mortality observed following the pandemic in Luxembourg was relatively contained compared to other European countries, especially in 2020.