More than six months into the U.S. outbreak of the coronavirus, Americans are dying of COVID-19 at a rate over 17 times higher than that in the European Union and Canada, when adjusted for population.
In the U.S., with a population of about 328 million, an average of about three people per million are dying each day, according to data compiled by Our World in Data. That's about 17 times higher than in the European Union, which has a population of about 446 million and less than one (0.18) daily death per million, on average. In Canada, home to about just under 38 million people, less than one (0.16) person per million is dying daily, on average.
The U.S. has a seven-day average of just over 1,000 deaths per day, according to a New York Times tracker. The seven-day average in Canada is about six COVID-19 deaths per day. Meanwhile, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported Tuesday that its 14-day cumulative average of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 stood at zero.
Among the countries currently most affected by the pandemic, the U.S. has the fourth highest mortality rate, with 45.24 deaths per 100,000 people in the population, according to an analysis by Johns Hopkins University. The United Kingdom, which formally withdrew from the European Union at the end of January, has the highest mortality rate of the most affected countries, with 68.95 deaths per 100,000, followed by Peru and Chile, with 57.58 and 49.05 deaths per 100,000, respectively.
Despite the surging number of infections and the rising number of deaths across the U.S., the White House has repeatedly insisted, inaccurately, that the U.S. has one of the lowest death rates in the world.
On July 6, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News, "We as an American society have stepped up. We have the lowest mortality rate, one of the lowest in the entire world." Trump later shared the same false assessment on Twitter.
A couple of weeks later, in a July 19 interview aired on Fox News Sunday, Trump repeated the inaccurate assessment. "I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world," he said. But host Chris Wallace fact-checked him, pointing out that the information was wrong.
"You said we had the worst mortality rate in the world...and we have the best," Trump insisted in response.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
The U.S. continues to have the highest number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus of any country. As of Tuesday, the nation had confirmed more than 4.3 million infections and close to 150,000 deaths. The seven-day average of new infections stands at more than 65,000 per day, while 1,696 deaths were reported on Monday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jason Lemon is a Weekend Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused on ... Read more
