The excess mortality in Germany in October is significantly higher than in previous years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 20 percent more people die than usual. Covid-19 could play a role – but the exact causes are still unclear.
According to a projection by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), 92,954 people died in Germany in October 2022. That is 19 percent or 14,560 more cases for this month than the average for the previous four years, the authority announced on Tuesday. In this case one speaks of excess mortality: Significantly more people die than usual in a certain period of time.
At the beginning of October – from calendar week 39 – the number of deaths and their difference to the comparative value had increased significantly, according to the Destatis statement. However, both values ??fell again at the end of the month. The number of Covid-19 deaths also reached an interim maximum in the middle of the month, but according to the statisticians can only partially explain the difference.
However, not only Germany was affected by the increased number of deaths: In other European countries, a similar trend was evident, as can be seen from calculations by the EuroMOMO network. While increased death figures were reported for only a few countries in the weeks of September, this affected more and more countries in the weeks of October. In contrast to Germany’s neighboring countries, where the excess mortality was rather low or moderate, Germany had a high excess mortality for two weeks in October.
Besides Covid-19, what could be the causes of the high excess mortality? The aging of the population has only a minor impact on the difference compared to previous years, writes Destatis. The extent to which other factors contributed to the increased numbers in October cannot be estimated at this time. The results of the cause of death statistics for 2022, which will be available later, can provide additional information on this question.