How deadlier is the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) compared to Influenza?
In the European Union (28 countries) every year there are almost 5 million reported deaths. The average number of people died from Influenza in the EU (2011-2016) was 3,414 people.
The total number of deaths in the EU (so far) due to COVID-19 are almost 90,000.
According to the average number of yearly deaths from Influenza (incl. swine flu) (2011-2016), the new coronavirus is 55 times deadlier in Spain, 50 times deadlier in Italy and 45 times deadlier in the United Kingdom.
The table shows how deadlier is COVID-19 compared to Influenza for every country:
| Spain | x 55 |
| Italy | x 50 |
| United Kingdom | x 45 |
| Belgium | x 37 |
| EU28 | x 26 |
| Ireland | x 22 |
| France | x 21 |
| Romania | x 17 |
| Netherlands | x 16 |
| Luxembourg | x 16 |
| Switzerland | x 15 |
| Germany | x 12 |
| Denmark | x 10 |
| Turkey | x 10 |
| Portugal | x 9 |
| Austria | x 9 |
| Sweden | x 8 |
| Hungary | x 7 |
| Slovenia | x 7 |
| Poland | x 5 |
| Serbia | x 5 |
| Cyprus | x 5 |
| Bulgaria | x 3 |
| Lithuania | x 3 |
| Estonia | x 3 |
| Iceland | x 2 |
| Norway | x 2 |
| Czechia | x 2 |
| Greece | x 2 |
| Croatia | x 1 |
The second comparison is the number of deaths due to COVID-19 during the last two months, compared to the average (2011-2016) number of total deaths (in a 2-month period) for every country.
Share of COVID-19 deaths (as % of total deaths in 2 month period)
The average (2011-2016) number of deaths in the EU in a 2-month period was almost 840,000 people. According to the data for COVID-19 deaths (almost 90,000), that makes almost 11% of total deaths in the EU. The table shows that share (%) for every country:
| Spain | 28.6% |
| Belgium | 27.1% |
| Italy | 21.7% |
| France | 18.8% |
| United Kingdom | 14.3% |
| Netherlands | 14.1% |
| Switzerland | 11.8% |
| Luxembourg | 10.7% |
| EU28 | 10.7% |
| Ireland | 9.9% |
| Sweden | 8.9% |
| Denmark | 3.7% |
| Portugal | 3.5% |
| Austria | 3.1% |
| Turkey | 2.7% |
| Germany | 2.7% |
| Iceland | 2.3% |
| Norway | 2.2% |
| Slovenia | 1.9% |
| Estonia | 1.4% |
| Cyprus | 1.3% |
| Czechia | 0.9% |
| Romania | 0.9% |
| Finland | 0.9% |
| Hungary | 0.7% |
| Serbia | 0.6% |
| Greece | 0.5% |
| Malta | 0.5% |
| Poland | 0.5% |
| Lithuania | 0.5% |
| Croatia | 0.4% |
| Bulgaria | 0.2% |
| Latvia | 0.1% |
| Slovakia | 0.1% |
Note 1: The total deaths due to COVID-19 are under-reported due to limited testing in each country and the method of counting the fatalities.
Note 2: We are still in the middle of the pandemic, which means that the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 will be much higher at the end.
Data
Link to the spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MlX7jOrNddus8kj_ne61BMMx1KHJ51asuKtgYH3x1XA
Total number of deaths (2011-2016)
The total number of deaths reported in every country (2011-2016), according to Eurostat:
| Deaths | Total (2011) | Total (2012) | Total (2013) | Total (2014) | Total (2015) | Total (2016) |
| EU28 | 4,872,673 | 5,015,443 | 4,995,061 | 4,942,660 | 5,217,378 | 5,136,501 |
| Belgium | 104,422 | 109,127 | 109,325 | 104,709 | 110,429 | 108,107 |
| Bulgaria | 107,614 | 108,814 | 103,691 | 108,203 | 109,186 | 106,519 |
| Czechia | 107,156 | 108,449 | 109,367 | 105,824 | 111,529 | 108,066 |
| Denmark | 52,379 | 52,135 | 52,289 | 51,150 | 52,397 | 52,675 |
| Germany | 853,095 | 871,615 | 896,287 | 870,812 | 927,866 | 913,523 |
| Estonia | 15,252 | 15,481 | 15,408 | 15,489 | 15,344 | 15,319 |
| Ireland | 28,456 | 29,186 | 29,501 | 29,251 | 30,126 | 30,667 |
| Greece | 111,099 | 116,668 | 111,794 | 113,740 | 121,485 | 118,952 |
| Spain | 387,911 | 402,950 | 390,419 | 395,829 | 422,568 | 410,611 |
| France | 547,097 | 572,071 | 569,929 | 559,626 | 593,941 | 593,723 |
| Croatia | 51,495 | 52,165 | 50,783 | 51,282 | 54,720 | 52,075 |
| Italy | 594,153 | 613,520 | 599,698 | 598,669 | 646,047 | 618,083 |
| Cyprus | 5,348 | 5,635 | 5,234 | 5,504 | 5,955 | 5,547 |
| Latvia | 28,614 | 29,120 | 28,735 | 28,257 | 28,244 | 28,213 |
| Lithuania | 40,506 | 40,478 | 41,057 | 39,764 | 41,226 | 40,627 |
| Luxembourg | 3,819 | 3,821 | 3,768 | 3,802 | 3,936 | 3,977 |
| Hungary | 128,795 | 129,440 | 126,778 | 126,307 | 131,697 | 127,053 |
| Malta | 3,318 | 3,463 | 3,304 | 3,326 | 3,516 | 3,409 |
| Netherlands | 134,962 | 140,045 | 141,174 | 138,174 | 146,297 | 148,129 |
| Austria | 76,142 | 78,961 | 79,020 | 77,940 | 83,026 | 80,374 |
| Poland | 376,150 | 385,456 | 387,988 | 377,182 | 394,921 | 388,009 |
| Portugal | 103,203 | 107,969 | 106,886 | 105,219 | 108,922 | 110,970 |
| Romania | 251,471 | 253,716 | 246,681 | 251,701 | 258,981 | 255,387 |
| Slovenia | 18,709 | 19,196 | 19,260 | 18,769 | 19,720 | 19,556 |
| Slovakia | 51,531 | 52,155 | 51,771 | 50,959 | 53,400 | 51,899 |
| Finland | 50,434 | 51,581 | 51,378 | 52,312 | 52,177 | 53,870 |
| Sweden | 89,353 | 91,538 | 90,083 | 88,664 | 90,549 | 90,408 |
| United Kingdom | 550,189 | 570,688 | 573,453 | 570,196 | 599,173 | 600,753 |
| Iceland | 1,962 | 1,929 | 2,128 | 2,023 | 2,151 | 2,276 |
| Norway | 41,303 | 41,913 | 40,200 | 39,645 | 39,984 | 40,349 |
| Switzerland | 62,682 | 64,805 | 65,534 | 64,452 | 68,279 | 65,533 |
| Serbia | 102,769 | 102,184 | 100,059 | 100,983 | 103,426 | 100,519 |
| Turkey | 312,249 | 320,967 | 360,873 | 383,676 | 397,037 | 420,189 |
The average number of deaths (2011-2016) for every country:
| EU28 | 5,029,953 |
| Belgium | 107,687 |
| Bulgaria | 107,338 |
| Czechia | 108,399 |
| Denmark | 52,171 |
| Germany | 888,866 |
| Estonia | 15,382 |
| Ireland | 29,531 |
| Greece | 115,623 |
| Spain | 401,715 |
| France | 572,731 |
| Croatia | 52,087 |
| Italy | 611,695 |
| Cyprus | 5,537 |
| Latvia | 28,531 |
| Lithuania | 40,610 |
| Luxembourg | 3,854 |
| Hungary | 128,345 |
| Malta | 3,389 |
| Netherlands | 141,464 |
| Austria | 79,244 |
| Poland | 384,951 |
| Portugal | 107,195 |
| Romania | 252,990 |
| Slovenia | 19,202 |
| Slovakia | 51,953 |
| Finland | 51,959 |
| Sweden | 90,099 |
| United Kingdom | 577,409 |
| Iceland | 2,078 |
| Norway | 40,566 |
| Switzerland | 65,214 |
| Serbia | 101,657 |
| Turkey | 365,832 |
Deaths (Influenza incl. swine flu) 2011 – 2016
| Deaths | Flu (2011) | Flu (2012) | Flu (2013) | Flu (2014) | Flu (2015) | Flu (2016) |
| EU28 | 2,577 | 2,286 | 3,154 | 1,834 | 5,894 | 4,737 |
| Belgium | 55 | 108 | 149 | 52 | 314 | 117 |
| Bulgaria | 18 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 3 | 13 |
| Czechia | 88 | 57 | 188 | 39 | 128 | 120 |
| Denmark | 29 | 14 | 30 | 20 | 27 | 64 |
| Germany | 225 | 72 | 448 | 79 | 701 | 411 |
| Estonia | 10 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 26 |
| Ireland | 5 | 7 | 16 | 30 | 34 | 41 |
| Greece | 112 | 8 | 13 | 84 | 43 | 135 |
| Spain | 214 | 205 | 111 | 431 | 487 | 647 |
| France | 338 | 778 | 716 | 346 | 1,918 | 965 |
| Croatia | 49 | 19 | 33 | 8 | 49 | 28 |
| Italy | 510 | 458 | 417 | 272 | 675 | 316 |
| Cyprus | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Latvia | 25 | 7 | 61 | 2 | 20 | 48 |
| Lithuania | 20 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 28 |
| Luxembourg | 4 | : | 5 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
| Hungary | 56 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 31 | 9 |
| Malta | : | : | 1 | : | : | 6 |
| Netherlands | 75 | 141 | 263 | 67 | 374 | 343 |
| Austria | 25 | 27 | 45 | 14 | 94 | 73 |
| Poland | 95 | 4 | 117 | 12 | 17 | 103 |
| Portugal | 71 | 43 | 44 | 57 | 74 | 127 |
| Romania | 21 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 25 | 56 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 30 |
| Slovakia | 29 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 12 | 6 |
| Finland | 35 | 43 | 40 | 45 | 134 | 230 |
| Sweden | 49 | 157 | 168 | 42 | 322 | 245 |
| United Kingdom | 412 | 105 | 222 | 160 | 375 | 544 |
| Iceland | : | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Norway | 33 | 84 | 87 | 44 | 129 | 115 |
| Switzerland | 23 | 35 | 74 | 52 | 244 | 91 |
| Serbia | 39 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 35 | 36 |
| Turkey | 97 | 45 | 120 | 125 | 220 | 392 |
The average number of deaths from Influenza (2011-2016):
| EU28 | 3,413.7 |
| Belgium | 132.5 |
| Bulgaria | 12.2 |
| Czechia | 103.3 |
| Denmark | 30.7 |
| Germany | 322.7 |
| Estonia | 12.7 |
| Ireland | 22.2 |
| Greece | 65.8 |
| Spain | 349.2 |
| France | 843.5 |
| Croatia | 31.0 |
| Italy | 441.3 |
| Cyprus | 2.7 |
| Latvia | 27.2 |
| Lithuania | 10.8 |
| Luxembourg | 4.4 |
| Hungary | 19.0 |
| Malta | 3.5 |
| Netherlands | 210.5 |
| Austria | 46.3 |
| Poland | 58.0 |
| Portugal | 69.3 |
| Romania | 23.2 |
| Slovenia | 9.0 |
| Slovakia | 11.2 |
| Finland | 87.8 |
| Sweden | 163.8 |
| United Kingdom | 303.0 |
| Iceland | 4.0 |
| Norway | 82.0 |
| Switzerland | 86.5 |
| Serbia | 22.5 |
| Turkey | 166.5 |
source: Eurostat – Worldometers.info
