The number of deaths per week in Sweden was higher from week 12 to week 26 in 2020 than it was in the years 2015 to 2019. Moreover, it increased from week 46 in 2020 and fell below the average of 2015 to 2019 in week five in 2021. Several of the deaths in 2020 were related to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, the number of deaths per week decreased from week seven, but was high in the last weeks of the year and the first weeks of 2023, before falling again. Causes of death In 2022, diseases of the circulatory system were the most common cause of death in Sweden. Over 28,000 deaths were caused by this type of disease that year. Cancerous tumors caused the second highest number of deaths in Sweden. COVID-19 in Sweden Sweden is the Nordic country that has reported the highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. All in all, the number of deaths in Sweden in 2023 amounted to nearly 95,000.

The number of deaths in Sweden in 2020 amounted to over 98,000. A high share of the deaths in 2020 were related to the coronavirus pandemic. However, in 2021, the number sank below 92,000, before increasing to over 94,000 in 2022 and 2023. The highest number of coronavirus deaths were among individuals age 70 and older. Sweden is the Nordic country that has reported the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The most common causes of death

The most common cause of death in 2022 was diseases of the circulatory system (cardiovascular diseases). This cause was followed by cancerous tumors.

 Ischemic heart disease

Among the diseases in the circulatory system, the one that caused the most deaths was chronic ischemic heart disease. Chronic ischemic heart disease is when the blood flow to the heart is reduced because the arteries of the heart are blocked. In 2020, ischemic heart disease caused more than 50,000 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) in Sweden was reported at 2.5 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Sweden - Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

UNICEF's country profile for Sweden, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Death Rate Crude Per 1 000 People

Forecast: Perinatal Mortality Rate in Sweden 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The highest number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the Nordic countries as of October 27, 2024, had occurred in Sweden at 28,006. Finland followed with 11,466 deaths, Denmark with 9,919, and Norway with 5,732. Denmark was the Nordic country with the highest number of people confirmed infected with COVID-19, reaching a total of 3,442,484 cases as of October 27, 2024. More statistics and facts about the virus are available here.

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Mortality Rate Infant Per 1 000 Live Births

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Mortality Rate Under 5 Male Per 1000

Forecast: Leukemia Mortality in Sweden 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Sweden SE: Probability of Dying at Age 20-24 Years: per 1000 data was reported at 2.300 Ratio in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.200 Ratio for 2018. Sweden SE: Probability of Dying at Age 20-24 Years: per 1000 data is updated yearly, averaging 2.400 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2019, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.900 Ratio in 1990 and a record low of 2.100 Ratio in 2016. Sweden SE: Probability of Dying at Age 20-24 Years: per 1000 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Probability of dying between age 20-24 years of age expressed per 1,000 youths age 20, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted average; Aggregate data for LIC, UMC, LMC, HIC are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

The number of deaths caused by cancer among men in Sweden was higher than the number of cancer deaths among women in all years during the period from 2009 to 2024. For both men and women, the number of cancer deaths was generally decreasing over the period. In 2024, the death rate from cancer was around *** deaths per hundred thousand inhabitants among men and around *** among women.

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.

Forecast: Neoplasms Mortality in Sweden 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Mortality Rate Adult Male Per 1 000 Male Adults

Sweden SE: Number of Deaths Ages 20-24 Years data was reported at 262.000 Person in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 271.000 Person for 2018. Sweden SE: Number of Deaths Ages 20-24 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 278.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2019, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 348.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 258.000 Person in 2000. Sweden SE: Number of Deaths Ages 20-24 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Number of deaths of youths ages 20-24 years; ; Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Sum; Aggregate data for LIC, UMC, LMC, HIC are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Mortality Rate Adult Female Per 1 000 Female Adults

Forecast: Respiratory System Disease Mortality in Sweden 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Tuberculosis Death Rate Per 100000 People

Actual value and historical data chart for Sweden Suicide Mortality Rate Per 100000 Population