Death Rate Among Elderly Up in Slovakia in 2020, Nitra Region Hardest Hit

Bratislava, February 10 (TASR) – Almost 11 people per 1,000 died in Slovakia last year, and as many as 16 per 1,000 in December, the Statistics Office reported on Wednesday.

“In several regions, 70-90 elderly people (aged 65 and over) died per 1,000 people in this age category,” stated the Statistics Office. In the hardest hit region, Nitra, one in eleven elderly people died in 2020.

The gross death rate in the country rose from 9.76 per 1,000 people in 2019 to 10.81 per 1,000 in 2020.

“It’s a significant increase within a single year, as mortality used to change by a few tenths at most, but this time it was by more than one person [per 1,000],” said Zuzana Podmanicka, director of the population statistics department.

Four regions were above average, most significantly Nitra region with 12.41 deaths per 1,000 people. It was followed by Trencin region (11.86), Banska Bystrica region (11.59) and Trnava region (10.93). The lowest death rates were seen in Presov region (9.64) and Bratislava region (9.68).

“The biggest increase in the death rate was recorded in Trencin region (up by 1.56 deaths per 1,000 people), followed by Trnava region (up by 1.34) and Nitra region (up by 1.23),” stated the Stats Office.

The death rate in Slovakia began rising in the autumn, with the most critical situation seen in December, with 16 deaths per 1,000. For the sake of comparison, only ten people per 1,000 people died in December 2019. The highest death rate was in Nitra region, the lowest in Bratislava region.