Almost 59,000 People Died in Slovakia in 2020, Record Since WWII

Bratislava, February 10 (TASR) – A total of 59,000 people died in Slovakia in 2020, almost 5,500 (10.2 percent) more than the average for the previous five years and the highest figure since WWII, the Statistics Office told TASR on Wednesday, adding that the situation was substantially influenced by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“The preliminary data confirm that in 2020 the highest number of people died in Slovakia since the end of World War II. The year-on-year increase exceeding 10 percent was mitigated by the fact that until September a comparable number of people died as in previous years, but the death rate as of October increased the figures,” said Zuzana Podmanicka, the head of the Population Statistics Department at the Statistics Office.

The Statistics Office further stated that the record number of deaths was recorded in the final year of World War II, in 1945, when 67,500 people died, while more than 59,000 people died in 1927.

December saw the highest number of deaths in 2020. According to the preliminary data, 7,282 people died in Slovakia in December of last year, which was 58 percent higher than the average of the previous five years. The hardest hit group was seniors aged 65 to 74 years. Deaths among seniors in December were more than 70 percent higher than the average for previous years.