Mortality in 2020 was 26 percent higher than in 2019, reflecting the toll of the coronavirus pandemic, the State Statistics Bureau (DZS) informed.

There were 25,775 deaths registered in 2020, compared to 20,446 in 2019. The Healthcare Ministry reported about 2,500 coronavirus deaths at the end of the year, but it is widely assumed that the actual number was much higher, and this seems to be confirmed by the statistics report which shows about 5,300 deaths more than in 2019.

DZS reports that 41.6 percent of deaths in 2020 were due to circulatory illness, 15.2 percent were from cancers and 10.9 percent were caused by Covid-19. Additional 5.8 percent of deaths were due to other illnesses of the respiratory system.