Between 2019 and 2020, average life expectancy in Germany fell by 0.3 years for men and 0.1 years for women, the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) announced on Tuesday.

In the United States, where measures to contain the virus were taken only hesitantly, life expectancy declined by 2.2 years for men and 1.7 years for women, according to the report. “These are very exceptional values for a highly developed country,” said Pavel Grigoriev, head of BiB’s mortality research group.

Many factors influence life expectancy but detailed mortality statistics show Covid-19 had a considerable influence in many countries, Grigoriev said.

In Poland, Spain and Italy, life expectancy in 2020 declined by more than one year for both men and women, the institute added. In contrast, life expectancy fared more favourably in northern Europe than in Germany. The exception here was Sweden, where coronavirus containment measures were more relaxed than elsewhere.

The institute also found large differences within Germany. In the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein life expectancy had actually risen. On the other hand Saxony, in the east of the country, had recorded a decline. In western Germany, the decline in Bavaria stood out. The researchers spoke of patterns that partly transcended national borders. They calculated the values from data collected by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office.

In a special analysis, the Federal Statistical Office determined a total of 77,612 deaths in Germany for September 2021, which was 10 per cent more than the average for the same month in the years 2017 to 2020. From January to September, the figures were on average five per cent above the comparative value. In the week from 27 September to 3 October, six per cent more people died than in the comparable period.