How many Chinese died from Covid?

China claims that 83,150 of its citizens have died since the Covid-19 pandemic began in late December 2019, but epidemiologists believe the total is far higher


DEATH RATE COMPARISON (deaths per 100,000 people since 2020) 

Official data 
China 		6 
New Zealand 	50 
South Korea 	65 
China 		68 	Low estimate
Australia 	74
China 		110 	High estimate
Canada 		135 
Germany 	200 
Spain 		252 
UK 		307 
U.S. 		337


China only counts deaths in hospitals and, until recently, only deaths caused by respiratory failure – discounting other causes such as liver, kidney or cardiac failure
    

ESTIMATES FROM FOUR SEPARATE ACADEMIC TEAMS

Estimate range

Official Chinese death toll		83,150*

Estimate based on Shanghai outbreak	1.6 million

Estimate based on people’s travel patterns	970,000

Estimated from recent testing data	1.5m

Estimate based on U.S. death rates	1.1m

0	0.5m 	1.0m	1.5m 	2.0m 	2.5m


Estimates suggest that between 1 and 1.5 million Chinese people died
 

*As of Feb 9, 2023


Source: New York Times
Illustration source: Creative Commons 
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