More than 2/3 of the increase of deaths between march 2nd and october 18th compared to the average of the last 5 years occurred outside a hospital.

Between March 2nd, when the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Portugal, and October 18th, there were 72,519 deaths in the national territory, an increase of 7,936 deaths in 2020 when compared to the average number of deaths during the same period over the past five years. Of these deaths, 27.5% (2,198) were due to COVID-19. In the last 4 weeks (September 21st to October 18th) there were 612 more deaths then the average from the same period of 2015-2019. In that period there were 278 registered deaths from COVID-19 (45.4%).
Of the total deaths recorded between March 2nd and October 18th 35,842 were of men and 36,069 were of women, an increase of 3,328 and 4,608 deaths, respectively, compared to the average of deaths observed in the same period between 2015-2019.
More than 70% of deaths were of people aged 75 years or over. Compared to the average number of deaths observed in the same 2015-2019 period, another 6,824 people aged 75 and over died, of which 5,377 were aged 85 and over.
The largest increase in the number of deaths in relation to the 2015-2019 average was registered in the Norte region, with the exception of the last week of June and the first of July, when this increase was higher in the region Área Metropolitana de Lisboa.
Of the total deaths recorded between March 2nd and October 18th 2020, 43,280 occurred in a hospital and 29,239 outside a hospital, corresponding to an increase of 2,483 deaths and 5,453 deaths, respectively, when compared to the average number of deaths in the same 2015-2019 period.

Despite the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Portugal calls for the best cooperation from enterprises, households and public bodies in responding to Statistics Portugal’s requests. The quality of official statistics, particularly their ability to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, crucially depends on this cooperation, for which Statistics Portugal thanks you in advance.