Over 35 Percent Excess Mortality Due to COVID-19: INEGI

INEGI’s preliminary figures indicate that COVID-19 deaths during 2020 are 35.3 percent higher than the official number reported by Mexican authorities. The federal government reported a total of 148,629 COVID-19 deaths during 2020 but INEGI’s data points to 201,163 deaths. The new figures would put Mexico in fourth place in COVID-19 deaths.

COVID-19 became the second most common death cause during 2020, right after cardiovascular diseases, which represented 218,855 deaths on 2020. That year, almost one in five deaths (18.5 percent) in Mexico was from COVID-19. INEGI also shows that 64.29 percent of the deceased from COVID-19 were men and 35.71 percent women.

The toll of COVID-19 in Mexico has been a concern since the beginning of the pandemic. In an in-depth study of the death toll in Mexico City, Nexos observed an excess in mortality linked to the health crisis caused by COVID-19. The study measures those who died from the disease and those with different ailments that could not get medical care due to the crisis or from fear of contagion. In its study, Nexos counted a total of 8,072 deaths of COVID-19 between January and May 20, which contrasts with the official number of 1,832. According to the Ministry of Health, Mexico City has an excess mortality rate of 25 percent.

El Economista found other inconsistencies on the registered death tolls in Mexico City. Through an inter-institutional group, it established that by the end of 2020 there were 212,938 deaths associated with COVID-19, a total of 1,077,273 deaths observed during the year and 328,376 excess deaths. INEGI’s preliminary figures point to 201,163 deaths associated with COVID-19, 1,086,094 deaths in total and 338,310 excess deaths.

During 2020, Mexican households increased their expenditure in healthcare by 40.5 percent, while household income contracted 5.8 percent compared to 2018. Total spending by household also decreased by 12.9 percent compared to 2018.