Unexplained extra deaths show coronavirus death toll is FAR higher than official global figures: Study of just 13 countries hit by Covid-19 shows glaring omission of 31,000 fatalities

Analysis of death tolls in 13 countries and regions hit by coronavirus has revealed tens of thousands of unexplained deaths that could be linked to the pandemic but are not being counted in official totals.

Data reveals that some 88,000 more people died in the locations studied between March and April this year than in previous years - a figure known as 'excess mortality' - but that only around 56,250 of those deaths were included in the official coronavirus tolls.

The places analysed include: Spain, England and Wales, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Lombardy, New York City, Istanbul and Jakarta. 

That leaves some 31,750 deaths over seasonal averages that are not being included in the total, but may be directly or indirectly caused by the virus. 

That figure will include patients who died outside hospital, were not tested for coronavirus when they died, or those who died from non-coronavirus conditions because they were unable to get treatment. 

Experts have previously argued that excess deaths during disasters should be included in death tolls because it provides a more complete picture when systems that typically count deaths are overwhelmed - though others say the figures are not accurate.

The data below was collected from from 13 federal or regional authorities that have been reporting it and collated by both The Economist and The New York Times. 

The New York Times identified 24,950 deaths in 11 locations that were not captured in the official coronavirus tolls, while The Economist found another 6,800 in two more locations - Lombardy and Austria.  

For example, In New York City - America's hardest-hit city - authorities registered 17,200 more deaths between March 11 and April 18 than would have been expected during that time period based on previous years.

Only 13,240 coronavirus deaths were registered in the city during that period, meaning there were 3,960 deaths above the average that may be due to the virus but are not included in the official tally. 

On average, the 13 places examined had an official total that was 40 per cent lower than the excess mortality figure, meaning if that trend were replicated globally, it would raise the total killed so far by coronavirus from the 178,000 figure reported Wednesday to almost 250,000. 

The figures are provisional and are likely to change as more deaths are registered and a clearer picture begins to emerge. But here is what the data we currently have suggests about the true toll of coronavirus...