STA, 27 October 2021 - A total of 24,016 people died in Slovenia in 2020, which is 3,428 (16.7%) more than in 2019, with the average age of the deceased being up by one year. The high mortality rate, especially in November and December 2020, resulted in the highest negative natural increase since 1945, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday.
Among the total of 24,016 people that died in Slovenia last year, 11,733 were men and 12,283 women, while the natural population increase has remained in the negative since 2017, the statistical data show.
The Covid-19 epidemic in 2020 and the high mortality rates, especially in November and December, contributed to an even more substantial negative natural increase.
Last year, the population growth rate was -2.5 per 1,000 inhabitants, which is the lowest natural increase in Slovenia since 1945.
The average age of the deceased last year was 79.2 years, which is 1.1 years higher than the average age at the time of death in Slovenia in 2019.
On average, Slovenian men die younger than women. Last year, the average age at death for males was 75.3 years, while the average age at death for females was 82.9 years.
The pandemic that marked 2020 had a significant impact on mortality too. While it was not so pronounced during the first wave in the spring, it became more obvious in the second half of the year, especially in the last quarter.
The excess mortality rate in 2020 was 18.8%, which means that 3,795 (18.8%) more people died than on average in the period between 2015 and 2019, said the Statistics Office.
Last year, 66 people died on average every, 10 more than in 2015-2019. The excess deaths are also reflected in the fact that in all years between 2000 and 2019, there was only one day in which 100 or more people died, compared to 38 such days in 2020.
All of these days were in November or December - 6 December was the day with the highest number of deaths that year (130). The week between 30 November to 6 December 2020 was the week with the highest number of deaths that year (801).
