Almost 140,000 people died in the Czech Republic last year, the most in post-war history, the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) reported it on its website. Over 10,000 more people died in 2021 than in the first pandemic year, and life expectancy for both women and men has fallen.
The ČSÚ does not state what the causes of monitored deaths were or whether the Covid-19 crisis played a role in the increase in deaths. According to the Czech Ministry of Health, more than 24,000 people died with Covid-19 last year.
“After a 15 percent increase in the number of deaths in 2020, the number of deaths increased by another 8 percent year-on-year in 2021,” said Marek Rojíček, head of the ČSÚ.
According to the office, the unfavorable epidemic situation was more pronounced in men, where the number of deaths increased by a tenth, while in women by six percent. Life expectancy decreased by 0.8 years to 80.6 years for women and decreased by 1.1 years to 74.2 years for men.
“Mortality deteriorated most sharply among 55- to 74-year-olds between 2020 and 2021, an average of 16 percent. Their mortality was a quarter higher than in 2019. The oldest seniors over the age of 80 died last year in the same number as in 2020. Their death rate remained still 15 percent higher than before the pandemic,” said Michaela Němečková from ČSÚ.
