Sweden Records Highest Death Rate in 150 Years; In the first half of 2020, 51,405 people died in Sweden, according to swedinfo. This is the highest figure since 1869, when a three-year famine ended in the country. Then, in the first six months, more than 55 thousand inhabitants of the country died, and many Swedes were forced to emigrate to the United States.
In addition, since the beginning of the year, the smallest population growth in 15 years has been recorded. During the reporting period, it increased by only 24,801 people (last year this figure was more than 51,000).
In general, 4,633 more people died in the first half of 2020 than the average for 2015-2019. Thus, the excess mortality was about 10%.
According to worldometers.info, on the morning of August 20, more than 85 thousand cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded in Sweden, 5802 people died.
Sweden is known for its liberal approach to countering the spread of the coronavirus. The level of restrictions was significantly lower than in most European countries.