The statistics below focus on reported COVID-19 deaths (as compiled by the World Health Organization). Reported totals can be revised and may understate total mortality because testing, certification, and reporting practices vary by place and over time.
covid death statistics
Key COVID-19 death statistics
Global cumulative deaths reported to WHO: 7,109,667 (as of 18 January 2026).
Global cumulative cases reported to WHO: 779,088,505 (as of 18 January 2026).
Implied reported case fatality ratio: 0.91% (deaths ÷ cases, based on WHO-reported totals).
Deaths reported in 2025: 25,736 (about 71 per day on average), down 99.27% from the 2021 peak year of 3,537,358 deaths reported.
Most recent 28-day period in WHO’s monthly update: 1,836 new deaths reported globally (29 December 2025 to 25 January 2026).
Age pattern (where age was reported): 90% of deaths with age information in December 2025 occurred among people aged 65+.
Reported COVID-19 deaths by year (global)
This chart sums new deaths reported to WHO by report date (2020–2025). Because some countries submit delayed corrections, yearly totals can shift slightly over time.
Totals below reflect cumulative deaths reported to WHO by countries in each WHO region (as of 18 January 2026). The Americas and Europe together account for 75.27% of reported cumulative deaths at this point.
Label
Bar
Value
Americas
3,068,787
Europe
2,282,334
South-East Asia
647,281
Western Pacific
583,745
Eastern Mediterranean
351,975
Africa
175,532
Max = 3,068,787. Widths: Americas 100.00%, Europe 74.37%, South-East Asia 21.09%, Western Pacific 19.02%, Eastern Mediterranean 11.47%, Africa 5.72%.
Top countries by reported cumulative COVID-19 deaths
These eight countries account for 54.33% of reported global cumulative COVID-19 deaths (as of 18 January 2026).
Label
Bar
Value
United States
1,233,841
Brazil
703,685
India
533,847
Russia
404,290
Mexico
335,090
United Kingdom
232,112
Peru
221,067
Italy
198,523
Max = 1,233,841. Widths: United States 100.00%, Brazil 57.03%, India 43.27%, Russia 32.77%, Mexico 27.16%, United Kingdom 18.81%, Peru 17.92%, Italy 16.09%.
Reported COVID-19 deaths vs. excess mortality estimates
Reported COVID-19 deaths do not capture the full mortality impact of the pandemic. One way to estimate the broader toll is excess mortality (observed deaths minus expected deaths), which includes both direct COVID-19 deaths and indirect deaths linked to disrupted health services and other pandemic effects.
WHO estimate (Jan 2020–Dec 2021): approximately 14.9 million excess deaths worldwide (range 13.3 to 16.6 million).
Reported COVID-19 deaths in 2020–2021 (WHO reporting): 5,474,110.
The gap between excess mortality and reported COVID-19 deaths highlights under-detection, differences in death certification, and uneven death registration systems across countries.
Sources
World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Dashboard data download: WHO-COVID-19-global-daily-data.csv (daily country-level cases and deaths by report date).
World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Dashboard monthly operational/epidemiological summary (last-28-days deaths and age distribution statements).
World Health Organization (WHO) excess mortality estimates for 2020–2021 (news release and data story).
