Mortality excess due to coronavirus deaths in Italy 2020, by age group and wave

Over the course of 2020, 75,891 deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported to the authorities in Italy. In total, the number of deaths in the country surpassed 746 thousand, the highest figure registered since World War II. This statistic shows the percentage change in the number of deaths per age group of the individuals who died, comparing figures for 2020 with the average of deaths in the same period between 2015 and 2019. The three periods considered correspond to three main stages of 2020 in Italy: the pre-COVID-19 months, the first wave, and the second wave. It is possible to see how COVID-19 impacted the different age groups disproportionately. The number of deaths recorded among individuals between zero and 49 years old, in fact, was even consistently less than the 2015-2019 average across 2020. On the other hand, during the first and second wave of infections, the number of deaths registered among people aged 80 years or more was 36 percent higher than the 2015-2019 average.