High excess mortality rates in Cyprus continue

Excess mortality rates stood at 19 per cent above the expected average in Cyprus for December 2022, according to data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, on Friday.

The death rate is compared against the four-year average for the months of December from 2016 to 2019.

This rate showed a decrease from November when it stood at a whopping 28 per cent above average. Data from Eurostat showed the death rate in Cyprus stood at 14 per cent above the norm in May, 11 per cent in June, 16 per cent in August and 14 per cent in September.

The Eurostat data revealed significant differences between EU member states, with Romania and Bulgaria both recording a 6 per cent drop from their national four-year average for December, while Hungary (+3 per cent), Luxembourg, Spain and Malta (all +10 per cent) recorded rates under the EU overall average which stood at 19 per cent above the norm.

The highest jump in mortality rates above expected for December in the EU were recorded in Germany where they stood at 37 per cent. Other countries which showed a higher than 20 per cent jump were Austria (+27 per cent), Slovenia (+26 per cent), Ireland and France (both +25 per cent), the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Estonia (all +23 per cent), Denmark (+22 per cent) and Finland and Lithuania (both +21 per cent).

In 2020, the year of the official start of the pandemic, the overall rates of excess death in the EU stood at 25 per cent above the norm in April, 40 per cent in November, and 30 per cent in December. In 2021, the deaths in April stood at 21 per cent above average, 27 per cent above average in November, and 24 per cent in December.

July 2022 also saw a higher-than-average number of deaths, some attributing them to heat waves across Europe.

The 19 per cent figure is the highest additional mortality rate recorded in the EU in 2022 and a significant increase from November when the excess death rate stood at 8 per cent above the EU’s four-year average.

Excess mortality in Cyprus was up by 27 per cent in December 2020 and up by 28 per cent in December 2021.