COVID-19 pandemic deaths

COVID-19 pandemic is the worst-ever worldwide calamity experienced on a large scale (with an estimated 7 million deaths) in the 21st century.

The COVID-19 death toll is the highest seen on a global scale since the Spanish flu and World War II.

These numbers do not include measures like years of potential life lost, far exceeding the 5.42 million officially reported deaths for that timeframe, may make the pandemic 2021's leading cause of death, and are similar to the ~18 million estimated by another study (see below).

[13][14][12] In October 2020, a group of scientists, including those from the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, published an analysis of the all-cause mortality effect of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for 21 industrialised countries – including its timing, demographics and excess deaths per capita – and assessed determinants for substantial variations in death rates such as the countries' pandemic preparedness and management.

[15][16] An analysis published in The Lancet in March 2022 by Wang et al. suggests up to 18 million lives may have been lost to the pandemic.