More deaths have been registered in recent weeks than the average reported over this amount of time in the past. For week 14 (ending 5 April), the number of deaths is estimated at around 5,100. This is approximately 2 thousand more deaths than the weekly average during the period week 1 to 10 inclusive of this year. This estimate has been based on the number of death certificates received by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) for week 14. Mortality stood at 4,425 deaths in week 13 (ending 26 March). This is reported by CBS and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) on the basis of national provisional counts of the number of deaths per week.

Over the period week 1 to week 10 inclusive (ending 8 March 2020), the average number of deaths per week stood at 3,132. This is slightly less than in 2019, when 3,170 deaths were recorded over the same period.

Download CSV Show datatable Number of deaths per week Number of deaths per week 2017 2018 2019* 2020* 1 3568 3343 3064 3099 2 3637 3359 3261 3364 3 3487 3364 3153 3151 4 3626 3322 3179 3040 5 3574 3403 3144 3157 6 3446 3513 3185 3188 7 3417 3660 3253 3195 8 3328 3691 3223 2953 9 3152 3937 3066 3087 10 3054 4092 3172 3088 11 2843 3733 3228 3209 12 2778 3430 3043 3586 13 2850 3225 3014 4425 14 2764 3040 2900 5098 15 2810 2860 2901 16 2713 2760 3040 17 2778 2663 2959 18 2769 2645 2808 19 2802 2641 2773 20 2801 2606 2821 21 2772 2674 2873 22 2701 2776 2732 23 2624 2679 2736 24 2643 2557 2649 25 2627 2601 2694 26 2691 2619 2836 27 2697 2726 2726 28 2520 2671 2762 29 2674 2704 2585 30 2571 2767 3007 31 2510 2760 2732 32 2657 2745 2629 33 2540 2605 2612 34 2545 2612 2616 35 2576 2527 2785 36 2570 2613 2556 37 2707 2539 2643 38 2715 2706 2582 39 2669 2696 2753 40 2641 2806 2717 41 2763 2760 2912 42 2706 2739 2879 43 2676 2671 2869 44 2726 2815 2856 45 2797 2798 3016 46 2916 2761 3062 47 2917 2859 3025 48 2886 2907 3041 49 3027 2968 3016 50 3218 3017 3164 51 3079 3041 3247 52 3187 2901 3019 * provisional figures 2020: latest weekly figure is an estimate.

Rising mortality mainly among elderly people

The rising mortality coincides with the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis in the Netherlands. The first confirmed COVID-19 patient in the Netherlands was reported on 27 February 2020. The first death involving COVID-19 was reported on 6 March 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.In week 13 (ending 15 March), 752 deaths involving COVID-19 were reported to RIVM, while mortality in week 14 stood at 1016 (as at Thursday, 9 April 2020). Since not all COVID-19 patients are tested, the actual numbers in the Netherlands are higher than the numbers stated in the report. A more complete picture emerges by looking at the total weekly number of deaths as based on the data received by CBS, regardless of the cause of death.

The rise in mortality is mainly seen among the elderly part of the population. Based on information received so far by CBS, in week 14 mortality rose further among the elderly and those aged 80 and over in particular. The estimated number of deaths among people aged 65 and over is almost 1,900 higher. This represents an increase of 68 percent relative to the weekly average in the first ten weeks of this year. Mortality among elderly people in week 13 was 44 percent higher.

In the age group 0 to 64 years as well, an increase can be seen as of week 11. This is particularly the case among the population over the age of 50. Under 50, the number of deaths is virtually equal to the average over the first ten weeks in 2020.

Download CSV Show datatable Number of deaths per week, 2020 Number of deaths per week, 2020 Average week 1 to 10 inclusive* Week 11* Week 12* Week 13* Week 14 (received data) Week 14 (additional estimate) Week 14 (total)* 0 to 64 yrs 396 405 442 491 398 92 490 65 to 79 yrs 920 946 1072 1388 1262 261 1523 80 yrs and over 1816 1858 2072 2546 2691 394 3085 * provisional figures

Higher mortality among men

Over the past few weeks, mortality has risen more sharply among men than women. An initial estimate for week 14 shows that mortality rose among both sexes, but the gap appears to have narrowed compared to the previous week. According to this estimate, the number of deaths in men was almost 75 percent (1,100) higher while mortality in women was over 50 percent (850) higher than the average across the first ten weeks. In week 13, mortality among men was up by over 50 percent; among women, by almost one-third.

Two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths as reported to RIVM were men. The higher mortality rate among men is also reflected in the total mortality.

Download CSV Show datatable Number of deaths per week, 2020 Number of deaths per week, 2020 Men Women Men (received data) Men (additional estimate) Men (total) Women (received data) Women (additional estimate) Women (total) Average week 1 to 10 inclusive* 1532 1600 Week 11* 1592 1617 Week 12* 1854 1732 Week 13* 2342 2083 Week 14* 2237 407 2644 2114 340 2454 * provisional figures

Mortality rising less steeply in Noord-Brabant and Limburg

In the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg, mortality appears to rise less sharply in week 14 (ending 5 April) than in the previous week. Based on the most recently available data, total weekly mortality in these two provinces in week 14, is more than double the respective averages over the first ten weeks of 2020. Weekly mortality in Noord-Brabant and Limburg was already (almost) twice as high in week 13 relative to the first ten weeks. These two provinces have recorded a rise in the number of deaths ever since week 11.

Based on an initial estimate, in week 14 the week-on-week increase in mortality was highest in the province of Zuid-Holland. In week 14, nearly 50 percent more deaths were registered there relative to the ten-week average. Two other provinces recording a sharper increase are Noord-Holland and Gelderland.

Apart from Noord-Brabant and Limburg, the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel also saw almost 50 percent more deaths in week 13 relative to the ten-week average. Furthermore, mortality rose by one-third in Noord-Holland and Utrecht.

Download CSV Show datatable Number of deaths per week, 2020 Number of deaths per week, 2020 Week 14 (received data) Week 14 (additional estimate) Week 14 (total)* Week 13* Week 12* Week 11* Average week 1 to 10 inclusive* Noord-Brabant 932 167 1099 964 703 540 481 Zuid-Holland 779 134 913 694 614 615 624 Noord-Holland 577 144 721 629 522 456 472 Gelderland 554 77 631 562 450 392 394 Limburg 474 62 536 484 330 279 250 Overijssel 289 27 316 303 246 230 216 Utrecht 279 35 314 275 212 211 211 Groningen 104 41 145 120 122 116 115 Friesland 120 25 145 151 141 123 129 Drenthe 105 11 116 113 105 104 107 Zeeland 86 13 99 87 93 88 84 Flevoland 52 11 63 43 48 55 51 * provisional figures

Mortality distributions by municipality

In week 13, several municipalities in Noord-Brabant, Limburg and around the city of Zwolle recorded more than double the average number of deaths over the first ten weeks of 2020. The number is even more than four times the average in eight different municipalities, including Boekel, Uden and Peel en Maas.

Mortality figures at the municipal level may fluctuate significantly, especially in the smaller municipalities. A (significant) rise over a particular week may therefore be coincidental and is not necessarily related to the coronavirus crisis.

1) Select week: Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 ▸ play