As of November 24, 2024 there were over 274 million confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) across the whole of Europe since the first confirmed cases in France in January 2020. France has been the worst affected country in Europe with 39,028,437 confirmed cases, followed by Germany with 38,437,756 cases. Italy and the UK have approximately 26.8 million and 25 million cases respectively. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

As of January 13, 2023, there have been 2,169,191 deaths in Europe overall due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) since the first recorded European death in France on February 15, 2020. The week beginning January 18, 2021 was the virus' deadliest week so far in Europe with 40,467 deaths. Russia had the highest number of deaths in Europe at 394,121, as of January 9, 2023.

The worldwide number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 was over 668 million as of January 9, 2023. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Based on a comparison of coronavirus deaths in 210 countries relative to their population, Peru had the most losses to COVID-19 up until July 13, 2022. As of the same date, the virus had infected over 557.8 million people worldwide, and the number of deaths had totaled more than 6.3 million. Note, however, that COVID-19 test rates can vary per country. Additionally, big differences show up between countries when combining the number of deaths against confirmed COVID-19 cases. The source seemingly does not differentiate between "the Wuhan strain" (2019-nCOV) of COVID-19, "the Kent mutation" (B.1.1.7) that appeared in the UK in late 2020, the 2021 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) from India or the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) from South Africa.

The difficulties of death figures

This table aims to provide a complete picture on the topic, but it very much relies on data that has become more difficult to compare. As the coronavirus pandemic developed across the world, countries already used different methods to count fatalities, and they sometimes changed them during the course of the pandemic. On April 16, for example, the Chinese city of Wuhan added a 50 percent increase in their death figures to account for community deaths. These deaths occurred outside of hospitals and went unaccounted for so far. The state of New York did something similar two days before, revising their figures with 3,700 new deaths as they started to include “assumed” coronavirus victims. The United Kingdom started counting deaths in care homes and private households on April 29, adjusting their number with about 5,000 new deaths (which were corrected lowered again by the same amount on August 18). This makes an already difficult comparison even more difficult. Belgium, for example, counts suspected coronavirus deaths in their figures, whereas other countries have not done that (yet). This means two things. First, it could have a big impact on both current as well as future figures. On April 16 already, UK health experts stated that if their numbers were corrected for community deaths like in Wuhan, the UK number would change from 205 to “above 300”. This is exactly what happened two weeks later. Second, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which countries already have “revised” numbers (like Belgium, Wuhan or New York) and which ones do not. One work-around could be to look at (freely accessible) timelines that track the reported daily increase of deaths in certain countries. Several of these are available on our platform, such as for Belgium, Italy and Sweden. A sudden large increase might be an indicator that the domestic sources changed their methodology.

Where are these numbers coming from?

The numbers shown here were collected by Johns Hopkins University, a source that manually checks the data with domestic health authorities. For the majority of countries, this is from national authorities. In some cases, like China, the United States, Canada or Australia, city reports or other various state authorities were consulted. In this statistic, these separately reported numbers were put together. For more information or other freely accessible content, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

As of June 13, 2023, there have been almost 768 million cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide. The disease has impacted almost every country and territory in the world, with the United States confirming around 16 percent of all global cases.

COVID-19: An unprecedented crisis Health systems around the world were initially overwhelmed by the number of coronavirus cases, and even the richest and most prepared countries struggled. In the most vulnerable countries, millions of people lacked access to critical life-saving supplies, such as test kits, face masks, and respirators. However, several vaccines have been approved for use, and more than 13 billion vaccine doses had already been administered worldwide as of March 2023.

The coronavirus in the United Kingdom Over 202 thousand people have died from COVID-19 in the UK, which is the highest number in Europe. The tireless work of the National Health Service (NHS) has been applauded, but the country’s response to the crisis has drawn criticism. The UK was slow to start widespread testing, and the launch of a COVID-19 contact tracing app was delayed by months. However, the UK’s rapid vaccine rollout has been a success story, and around 53.7 million people had received at least one vaccine dose as of July 13, 2022.

This dataset provides values for CORONAVIRUS DEATHS reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

As of March 13, Austria had the highest rate of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases reported in the previous seven days in Europe at 224 cases per 100,000. Luxembourg and Slovenia have recorded 122 and 108 cases per 100,000 people respectively in the past week. Furthermore, San Marino had a rate of 97 cases in the last seven days.
Since the pandemic outbreak, France has been the worst affected country in Europe with over 38.3 million cases as of January 13. The overall incidence of cases in every European country can be found here.

For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS, formerly the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey) is a voluntary fortnightly survey of businesses developed to deliver timely indicators to help understand the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The scope of the survey has been expanded to explore other economic-related issues such as the European Union transition period (Brexit). The survey captures businesses responses on how their turnover, workforce, prices, trade and business resilience have been affected in the two week reference period.The data should be treated with caution as results reflect the characteristics of those who responded and not necessarily the wider business population. Comparison of the proportions of businesses' trading status between waves should be treated with caution because of the voluntary nature of the survey, the difference in response rates and dependency on those businesses that only responded in particular waves. These data should not be used in place of official statistics. The survey was designed to give an indication of the impact of the coronavirus on businesses and a timelier estimate than other surveys. The latest publications from the survey can be found on the ONS Business Services webpage. Linking to other business studiesThese data contain IDBR reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.Latest edition information Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 / Style Definitions / table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} For the twenty-seventh edition (October 2024), data and documentation for Waves 112, 113 and 114 have been added to the study. Main Topics: BICS covers questions relating to:financial performance of the businessoperational performance of the businessother financial or operational issuesA full list of variables available for each wave is included in the BICS Variable Catalogue, Questionnaires and Data Dictionaries, which are part of the study documentation.

As of January 18, 2023, Portugal had the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in Europe having administered 272.78 doses per 100 people in the country, while Malta had administered 258.49 doses per 100. The UK was the first country in Europe to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for widespread use and began inoculations on December 8, 2020, and so far have administered 224.04 doses per 100. At the latest data, Belgium had carried out 253.89 doses of vaccines per 100 population. Russia became the first country in the world to authorize a vaccine - named Sputnik V - for use in the fight against COVID-19 in August 2020. As of August 4, 2022, Russia had administered 127.3 doses per 100 people in the country.

The seven-day rate of cases across Europe shows an ongoing perspective of which countries are worst affected by the virus relative to their population. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

After entering Italy, the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread fast. The strict lockdown implemented by the government during the Spring 2020 helped to slow down the outbreak. However, in the following months the country had to face four new harsh waves of contagion. As of January 1, 2025, 198,638 deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported by the authorities, of which approximately 48.7 thousand in the region of Lombardy, 20.1 thousand in the region of Emilia-Romagna, and roughly 17.6 thousand in Veneto, the regions mostly hit. The total number of cases reported in the country reached over 26.9 million. The north of the country was mostly hit, and the region with the highest number of cases was Lombardy, which registered almost 4.4 million of them. The north-eastern region of Veneto counted about 2.9 million cases. Italy's death toll was one of the most tragic in the world. In the last months, however, the country saw the end to this terrible situation: as of November 2023, 85 percent of the total Italian population was fully vaccinated. For a global overview, visit Statista's webpage exclusively dedicated to coronavirus, its development, and its impact.

As of May 2, 2023, the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had spread to almost every country in the world, and more than 6.86 million people had died after contracting the respiratory virus. Over 1.16 million of these deaths occurred in the United States.

Waves of infections Almost every country and territory worldwide have been affected by the COVID-19 disease. At the end of 2021 the virus was once again circulating at very high rates, even in countries with relatively high vaccination rates such as the United States and Germany. As rates of new infections increased, some countries in Europe, like Germany and Austria, tightened restrictions once again, specifically targeting those who were not yet vaccinated. However, by spring 2022, rates of new infections had decreased in many countries and restrictions were once again lifted.

What are the symptoms of the virus? It can take up to 14 days for symptoms of the illness to start being noticed. The most commonly reported symptoms are a fever and a dry cough, leading to shortness of breath. The early symptoms are similar to other common viruses such as the common cold and flu. These illnesses spread more during cold months, but there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that temperature impacts the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Medical advice should be sought if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.

In early-February, 2020, the first cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in the United Kingdom (UK). The number of cases in the UK has since risen to 24,243,393, with 1,062 new cases reported on January 13, 2023. The highest daily figure since the beginning of the pandemic was on January 6, 2022 at 275,646 cases.

COVID deaths in the UK COVID-19 has so far been responsible for 202,157 deaths in the UK as of January 13, 2023, and the UK has one of the highest death toll from COVID-19 in Europe. As of January 13, the incidence of deaths in the UK is 298 per 100,000 population.

Regional breakdown The South East has the highest amount of cases in the country with 3,123,050 confirmed cases as of January 11. London and the North West have 2,912,859 and 2,580,090 cases respectively.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Snapshot img { margin: 10px !important; } The surgical mask market size has the potential to grow by USD 2.41 billion during 2020-2024, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate during the forecast period because of the steady increase in year-over-year growth.

This report provides a detailed analysis of the market by distribution channel (offline and online) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America). Also, the report analyzes the market’s competitive landscape. It offers information on several market vendors, including 3M Co., Ansell Ltd., Cardinal Health Inc., Dynarex Corp., Investor AB, Honeywell International Inc., Medline Industries Inc., Owens & Minor Inc., Sterimed, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Market Overview

Browse TOC and LoE with selected illustrations and example pages of Surgical Mask Market

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Market Competitive Analysis

The surgical mask market is fragmented. Key vendors in the market are focusing on marketing strategies and product innovation to expand their geographical reach and increase their market share. 3M Co., Ansell Ltd., and Cardinal Health Inc. are some of the major market participants. Although the rising number of surgical procedures will offer immense growth opportunities, the limitations and drawbacks of surgical masks will challenge the growth of the market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

To help clients improve their market position, this surgical mask market forecast report provides a detailed analysis of the market leaders. It offers information on the competencies and capacities of these companies. The report also covers details on the market’s competitive landscape and provides information on the products offered by various companies. Moreover, this surgical mask market analysis report also includes information on the upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This will help companies create strategies to make the most of future growth opportunities.

This report provides information on the production, sustainability, and prospects of several leading companies, including:

3M Co.
Ansell Ltd.
Cardinal Health Inc.
Dynarex Corp.
Investor AB
Honeywell International Inc.
Medline Industries Inc.
Owens & Minor, Inc.
Sterimed
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Surgical Mask Market: Segmentation by Geography

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Europe will offer several growth opportunities to market vendors during the forecast period. The increasing number of surgeries in the region will significantly influence surgical masks market growth in this region.

34% of the market’s growth will originate from Europe during the forecast period. The UK and Germany are the key markets for surgical masks in Europe. Market growth in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in other regions

Surgical Mask Market: Segmentation by Distribution Channel

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The offline distribution channel comprises of drug stores, hospitals, and clinics. Drug stores sell a wide range of healthcare products and medicines. Customers can buy both over-the-counter and prescription medication at drug stores. Drug stores are one of the most common offline distribution channels for surgical masks. Customers prefer purchasing surgical masks from drug stores, as they believe that products sold through drugstores/pharmacies are superior in terms of quality, usefulness, safety, and standards. The recent COVID-19 outbreak across the world has resulted in a supply shortage of surgical masks in most of the drug stores across the world. Therefore, most drug stores have raised the price of surgical masks.

Market growth in this segment will be slower than the growth of the market in the online segment. This report provides an accurate prediction of the contribution of all the segments to the growth of the surgical mask market size.

Surgical Mask Market: Key Drivers and Trends

With the increase in the number of surgeries, the use of different medical supplies, including surgical masks, is also increasing. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and stroke has led to an increase in the number of surgical procedures. The rising cases of obesity have also increased the number of weight-loss surgeries. Moreover, the high consumption of tobacco and alcohol, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity that are leading to an increase in chronic diseases will also increase the number of surgeries. This will subsequently drive surgical masks market growth during the forecast period.

The frequent outbreak of epidemics, one of the significant surgical masks market trends,

Snapshot img

Vaccine Research Market Size 2024-2028

The vaccine research market size is forecast to increase by USD 21.4 billion, at a CAGR of 10.84% between 2023 and 2028.

Major Market Trends & Insights

North America dominated the market and accounted for a 44% growth during the forecast period.
By the End-user - Public segment was valued at USD 12.10 billion in 2022
By the Age Group - Pediatric segment accounted for the largest market revenue share in 2022

Market Size & Forecast

Market Opportunities: USD 170.05 billion
Market Future Opportunities: USD 21.40 billion
CAGR : 10.84%
North America: Largest market in 2022

Market Summary

The market is a dynamic and innovative sector, driven by advancements in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. According to recent reports, the global vaccine market size was valued at over USD50 billion in 2020, with a significant increase in investments in research and development. This growth can be attributed to the ongoing efforts to address various infectious diseases, including those that pose a significant public health threat. Notably, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies has accelerated vaccine research, enabling faster identification of potential vaccines and reducing the time-to-market. For instance, AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data from clinical trials, predicting potential side effects and optimizing dosages.
Furthermore, ML models can identify patterns in disease outbreaks, helping researchers to focus their efforts on developing vaccines for the most pressing health concerns. Despite these advancements, the high cost of vaccine research, development, and manufacturing remains a significant challenge. However, collaborations between public and private entities, as well as government funding, are helping to mitigate these costs and ensure that vaccines remain accessible to those who need them most. Overall, the market continues to evolve, driven by the need to address new and emerging health threats and improve global health outcomes.

What will be the Size of the Vaccine Research Market during the forecast period?

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The market encompasses the development, manufacturing, and testing of various vaccine types, including live attenuated, RNA, recombinant, subunit, conjugate, peptide, inactivated, and virus-like particle vaccines. Two significant milestones in this dynamic industry are the completion of phase 3 trials and the initiation of process validation. For instance, in phase 3 trials, cohort studies involving thousands of participants assess vaccine efficacy and safety. Simultaneously, process validation ensures the consistency and reliability of manufacturing processes for vaccine production. Live attenuated vaccines, such as those based on the measles virus, have historically accounted for a substantial market share.
However, the advent of RNA vaccines, like those developed for COVID-19, has introduced innovative technologies and expanded the vaccine development pipeline. In 2020, over 200 vaccines were in various stages of clinical development, with approximately 50 in phase 3 trials. This underscores the continuous evolution and growth of the market, driven by ongoing research in adjuvants, immune profiling, immune modulation, and safety assessments.

How is this Vaccine Research Industry segmented?

The vaccine research industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD billion' for the period 2024-2028, as well as historical data from 2018-2022 for the following segments.

End-user

  Public
  Private


Age Group

  Pediatric
  Adult


Technology

  Recombinant Vaccines
  mRNA Vaccines
  Subunit Vaccines
  Live-Attenuated Vaccines
  Inactivated Vaccines
  Viral Vector Vaccines
  Conjugate Vaccines
  Toxoid Vaccines
  Adjuvants


Disease Type

  Infectious Diseases
  Cancer
  Autoimmune Diseases
  Allergies
  Neurological Disorders


Research Phase

  Preclinical Research
  Clinical Trials (Phase I, Phase II, Phase III)
  Discovery & Development


End-User

  Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
  Academic & Research Institutions
  Contract Research Organizations (CROs)
  Government Agencies


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    France
    Germany
    Italy
    UK


  Middle East and Africa

    Egypt
    KSA
    Oman
    UAE


  APAC

    China
    India
    Japan


  South America

    Argentina
    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By End-user Insights

The public segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

The market is driven by the ongoing global health crisis and the need for effective vaccines against var

As of January 1, 2025, the number of active coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in Italy was approximately 218,000. Among these, 42 infected individuals were being treated in intensive care units. Another 1,332 individuals infected with the coronavirus were hospitalized with symptoms, while approximately 217,000 thousand were in isolation at home. The total number of coronavirus cases in Italy reached over 26.9 million (including active cases, individuals who recovered, and individuals who died) as of the same date. The region mostly hit by the spread of the virus was Lombardy, which counted almost 4.4 million cases.For a global overview, visit Statista's webpage exclusively dedicated to coronavirus, its development, and its impact.

As of November 18, 2022, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa amounted to around 12.7 million, which represented around two percent of the infections around the world. By the same date, coronavirus cases globally were over 640 million, deaths were over six million, while approximately 620 million people recovered from the disease. On the African continent, South Africa was the most drastically affected country, with more than 3.6 million infections.

The African continent fighting the pandemic  

The African continent first came in contact with the coronavirus pandemic on February 14, 2020, in the northernmost part, particularly Egypt. Since then, the different governments took severe restrictive measures to try to curb the spread of the disease. Moreover, the official numbers of the African continent are significantly lower than those of Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. Nevertheless, the infectious disease still managed to have its effects on several countries. South Africa had the highest number of deaths. Morocco and Tunisia, the second and third most affected in Africa, recorded 16,002 and 27,824 deaths, respectively, while Egypt registered at 24,132 as of March 02, 2022.

The light at the end of the tunnel  

Although the African countries still have a long way to fully combat the virus, vaccination programs have been rolled out in the majority of Africa. Also, according to a survey, public opinion in several African countries shows a high willingness to be vaccinated, with Ethiopia having numbers as high as 94 percent. As of March 2022, Egypt was the country administering the highest number of vaccine doses, however, Seychelles had the highest per rate per 100 people .

Euroscepticism, the political position which opposes European integration or proposes leaving the EU, peaked in the early 2010s during the period of the Eurozone crisis. Approval of the EU had been stable at a relatively high level in the 2000s, with around half of respondents having a positive image of the Union, before sharply dropping from 2010 onwards to under a third of respondents. In spite of the spike in negative attitudes towards the EU, the total share of respondents with a negative outlook never exceeded the share of those with a positive one. By 2020, disapproval of the EU was back down to below twenty percent, and has fallen further since. The share of respondents with a positive image of the bloc has risen back to pre-financial crisis levels, signifying a remarkable turnaround in the public image of the EU. Whether this reflects a secular trend, or is the result of the external shocks of Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which have both forced the member states of the union to cooperate on further integration measures, is yet to be seen. The Eurozone Crisis and the rise of euroscepticism Euroscepticism in the 2010s was driven by a succession of crises in both the economic and political spheres, which were latched onto by populists of both the far-left and far-right. The Eurozone crisis was triggered in 2010 by financial market pressure on the heavily indebted countries on the EU's periphery who were also member of the Euro currency area (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, among others). The economies of these member states had suffered greatly during the global financial crisis and great recession, with the collapse of their housing markets and failure of their banking systems meaning that their governments had to take on increasing debt burdens. As it became clear that their debt levels were unsustainable, the yield on their government debt spiked, meaning that new borrowing became unaffordable. In most cases, the 'Troika' of the EU Commission, ECB, and IMF stepped in to provide bailouts, but with harsh austerity conditions which generated further unemployment and social discontent. The crisis was largely resolved by late 2012, as ECB chief Mario Draghi resolved to do "whatever it takes" to stabilize yields and to save the Euro. Nevertheless, Greece remained in deep trouble until after 2015, with question marks remaining about whether they would leave the Euro. Greece finally exited its Troika bailout program in 2018. Increasing migration flows and populist discontent While the Eurozone crisis was resolved (or at least delayed until a future date) by the middle of the decade, the populist political forces which it had unleashed began to have successes across the continent. The humanitarian crisis trigerred by the fleeing of millions of people from the war in Syria and other conflicts in the Middle East & North Africa towards Europe poured fuel on the fire of populism. Parties who opposed migration took power in Central & Eastern Europe, with Poland's Law and Justice Party and Hungary's Fidesz becoming some of the EU's biggest adversaries over the 2010s. Far-right parties in Western Europe such as the AfD in Germany, National Rally in France, Lega in Italy, PVV in the Netherlands, and Vox in Spain began to have unprecedented electoral success. These parties were buoyed by the Brexit referendum in the UK, where the populist challenger UKIP had forced the ruling Conservative Party to announce a vote on the UK's membership of the EU. With the referendum won by the 'leave' side, populist forces in other countries sought to capitalize on this momentum by entering government and, if not leaving the EU entirely, forcing changes to the way the union is run. While much ink was spilled over the threat this populist challenge posed to the EU, in many cases when populist parties entered government, such as Syriza in Greece and the Five Star Movement in Italy, they softened their tone towards leaving the union and focused rather on domestic politics than EU reform. Covid-19, Russia-Ukraine War, and the decline of euroscepticism? By the end of the decade of the 2010s, the populist and eurosceptic wave which had swept over the continent began to recede. Voters became dissatisfied with the achievements of many populist parties once they had entered office and a series of external shocks would further dampen the hostility towards the EU. The Covid-19 Pandemic struck in early 2020, and while the EU has been criticized for not having a united response to the crisis and being slow to organize the roll-out of vaccination programs, the pandemic focused populist energies towards anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination campaigns which targeted national governments rather than the EU. The pandemic also produced a "rally around the flag" effect, whereby the public approval of establishment forces which were seeking...

The average monthly price for natural gas in the United States amounted to **** nominal U.S. dollars per million British thermal units (Btu) in July 2025. By contrast, natural gas prices in Europe were about three times higher than those in the U.S. Prices in Europe tend to be notably higher than those in the U.S. as the latter benefits from being a major hydrocarbon producer. Europe's import reliance European prices for natural gas rose most notable throughout the second half of 2021 and much of 2022, peaking at over ** U.S. dollars per million Btu in August 2022. The sharp rise was due to supply chain issues and economic strain following the COVID-19 pandemic, which was further exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. As a result of the war, many countries began looking for alternative sources, and Russian pipeline gas imports to the European Union declined as a result. Meanwhile, LNG was a great beneficiary, with LNG demand in Europe rising by more than ** percent between 2021 and 2023. How domestic natural gas production shapes prices As intimated, the United States’ position among the leaders of worldwide natural gas production is one of the main reasons for why prices for this commodity are so low across the country. In 2024, the U.S. produced more than ************ cubic meters of natural gas, which allays domestic demand and allows for far lower purchasing prices.

As of April 2025, the inflation rate in the European Union was 2.4 percent, with prices rising fastest in Romania, which had an inflation rate of 4.9 percent. By contrast, both France and Cyprus saw low inflation rates during the same period, with France having the lowest inflation rate in the EU during this month. The rate of inflation in the EU in the October 2022 was higher than at any other time, with the peak prior to 2021 recorded in July 2008 when prices were growing by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Before the recent rises in inflation, price rises in the EU had been kept at relatively low levels, with the inflation rate remaining below three percent between January 2012 and August 2021. Rapid recovery and energy costs driving inflation The reopening of the European economy in 2021 following the sudden shock of COVID-19 in 2020 is behind many of the factors that have caused prices to rise so quickly in 2022. Global supply chains have not yet recovered from production issues, travel restrictions, and workforce problems brought about by the pandemic. Rising energy costs have only served to exacerbate supply problems, particularly with regard to the transport sector, which had the highest inflation rate of any sector in the EU in December 2021. High inflation rates mirrored in the U.S. The high inflation rates seen in Europe have been reflected in other parts of the world. In the United States, for example, the consumer price index reached a 40-year-high of seven percent in December 2021, influenced by many of the same factors driving European inflation. Nevertheless, it is hoped that once these supply chain issues ease, inflation levels will start to fall throughout the course of 2022.

On March 4, 2020, the first death as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) was recorded in the United Kingdom (UK). The number of deaths in the UK has increased significantly since then. As of January 13, 2023, the number of confirmed deaths due to coronavirus in the UK amounted to 202,157. On January 21, 2021, 1,370 deaths were recorded, which was the highest total in single day in the UK since the outbreak began.

Number of deaths among highest in Europe
The UK has had the highest number of deaths from coronavirus in western Europe. In terms of rate of coronavirus deaths, the UK has recorded 297.8 deaths per 100,000 population.

Cases in the UK The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK was 24,243,393 as of January 13, 2023. The South East has the highest number of first-episode confirmed cases of the virus in the UK with 3,123,050 cases, while London and the North West have 2,912,859 and 2,580,090 confirmed cases respectively. As of January 16, the UK has had 50 new cases per 100,000 in the last seven days.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the number of deaths in Italy remained rather stable. In 2020, on the contrary, the death rate reached 12.5 per 1,000 inhabitants, a notable increase compared to previous years. Four years after the pandemic, the figure remains above 10 deaths per 1,000 residents. From the perspective of the single regions, the highest number of deaths was registered in Liguria, whereas the lowest death rate in the country was reported in Trentino-Alto Adige. Coronavirus in Italy In Italy, the first cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were registered at the end of January 2020. Then, since the end of February, the virus started to spread among the Italian population. Data on the infected patients show that COVID-19 has hit every age group uniformly, but the mortality rate appears to be much higher for elderly patients. Death rates in Europe Despite being the fourth-largest country in Europe in terms of population size, Italy was the state with the second-highest number of deaths, preceded only by Germany, the most populated country on the continent.