India recorded at least 3.74 million excess deaths in 2020 and 2021 compared to two pre-Covid years, 2018 and 2019, according to the data on registered births and deaths released last week.
Excess deaths or mortality refers to the difference between the total number of deaths during a pandemic or any other natural disaster compared to the number of deaths that would have been expected under normal conditions. The difference is an indicator of the likely death toll, as it captures deaths that went unreported.
The total deaths in 2018 and 2019 was 14.5 million. But the number of deaths in the two pandemic years – 2020 and 2021 – was 18.3 million, shows data from the civil registration system, which is the official record of births and deaths registered with the local government bodies.
This indicates 3.74 million excess deaths. In contrast, India’s official Covid-19 toll till date is 5.33 lakh. The first death due to the virus was reported in March 2020.
That is to say, India possibly undercounted Covid-19 deaths by seven times. If the government releases civil registration data for 2022, the gap could be higher. The civil registration system records events such as births, deaths and still births.