Elevated mortality rates in Finland in November 2023 linked to COVID-19 and aging population
In November 2023, Finland experienced an unusually high number of deaths, 40% more than expected based on averages from 2016–2019, according to data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. This spike in mortality has been attributed to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid aging of the Finnish population. Eurostat, which has been providing monthly data on mortality rates across EU countries since the onset of the pandemic, uses a metric called 'relative excess mortality'.