Covid-19: assessment of human losses

Established more than two years ago, on 11 March 2020, the Covid-19-related state of emergency played a crucial role in managing the health crisis.

From that date onwards, major restrictive measures were put in place, leading to economic and social upheavals and a profound overhaul of our relationships with others and our way of life.

Now that the Covid-19 pandemic is officially over, Atlas Magazine takes stock of the human and economic losses caused by the health crisis, from the start of the pandemic to the lifting of the state of emergency.

Covid-19: deaths and infections per region

According to data collected by the WHO, Europe is the continent where the coronavirus has circulated the most (36%). On the other hand, it is the Americas, in particular the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Peru, which have accounted for the highest number of deaths, with 42% of the 6.9 million human losses reported by the WHO worldwide.

In terms of death rates, Africa leads the way, with 1.84 people dying for every 100 infected. The lowest death rate is in the Western Pacific, at 0.2%.

America, where countries such as the United States and Brazil have long denied the existence of the pandemic, reported lower overall results than Europe. In Europe, the authorities adopted lockdown and prevention measures early on, backed up by massive vaccination campaigns.

Africa seems to have been relatively spared in terms of contamination and death. However, data feedback in some African countries, combined with low testing and vaccination rates, casts doubt on the reliability of the data reported.

Data as of June 2023,
Source: World Health Organization

Covid-19: deaths and infections per country

The United States, Brazil, India, Russia and Mexico are, in descending order, the five countries hardest hit by the pandemic. The USA alone accounts for 16.24% of global deaths and for the highest percentage of infected people (13.49%).

In terms of contamination, the USA, China and India account for the highest number of infections. France ranks 4^th worldwide.

Thanks to intensive vaccination campaigns launched at the end of 2020, France has succeeded in limiting the number of deaths. By January 2022, 75% of its population had already received at least one dose of the vaccine.

China, Japan and South Korea are among the countries most affected by the pandemic in terms of the number of cases, but their good management of the health crisis and high vaccination rates excluded them from the list of the countries with the highest number of deaths.

Coronavirus: top 10 countries by number of contaminations

Data as of June 2023
Source: World Health Organization

Coronavirus: top 10 countries by number of deaths

Data as of June 2023
Source: World Health Organization

Coronavirus: top 10 countries in terms of number of deaths per million inhabitants

Peru, an Andean country, reported the highest number of deaths per million inhabitants, at 6 484 followed by Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

With the exception of Peru, the remaining countries on the list belong more or less to the same geographical area, namely Central Europe and the Balkans, including five countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Data as of June 2023
Source: World Health Organization