The UK ended 2020 with one of the highest levels of excess mortality for people aged under 65 among countries in Europe, according to new analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
By the week ending December 18, the cumulative excess mortality rate for this age group was 7.7% higher than the average mortality rate in 2015 to 2019, second only to Bulgaria on 12.3%.
The individual rate for England stood at 8.7%, higher than the figures for Scotland (7.7%), Wales (5.0%) and Northern Ireland (4.1%).
For deaths among all ages, Poland ended 2020 with the highest cumulative excess mortality rate (11.6%), followed by Spain (10.6%) and Belgium (9.7%). England ranked seventh on this list (7.8%) with the UK eighth (7.2%).
The ONS compared 22 countries where data was available.
