The excess mortality rate in Cyprus in July was much higher than in other EU countries, according to a Eurostat report.

According to the data, the excess rate in Cyprus stood at +26 per cent, the highest in the EU, where the average across the bloc was calculated at +4.4 per cent.

Excess mortality refers to the number of deaths from all causes measured during a crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, above what could be observed in normal conditions.

However, while a substantial increase in the excess mortality rate largely coincided with the coronavirus outbreak, the report did not discriminate among other causes of death.

On average in the EU, excess mortality has been decreasing since May 2021, following a peak in April 2021 (+20 per cent) and after as much as +40 per cent in November 2020, compared with the averages of the same months from 2016 to 2019.

The percentage calculated in July 2021 greatly varied among EU member states. From around -3 per cent in Belgium and Sweden to +25 per cent in Greece and a record +26 per cent in Cyprus.

In regard to 2020, a year completely dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU experienced two cycles of excess mortality, the first between March and May 2020, with a peak of +25 per cent in April, then a longer one between August 2020 and the end of the year, with a peak of +40 per cent in November.