The majority of deaths occurred in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

In the last two years, the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 15 million people have died as a result of the coronavirus; or its impact on overburdened health systems, more than double the official death toll of 6 million. The majority of deaths occurred in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

The United Nations’ chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the statistic as “sobering”; in a report released on Thursday, saying it should motivate governments to invest more in their capacity to deal with future health emergencies.

WHO scientists tasked with calculating the actual number of Covid-19 deaths between January 2020 and the end of last year estimated that between 13.3 million and 16.6 million people died as a result of the coronavirus or as a result of the pandemic’s impact on health systems, such as cancer patients unable to seek treatment because hospitals were overburdened with Covid patients.

The results are based on data provided by countries and statistical modelling. The WHO did not immediately break down the figures to differentiate between deaths caused directly by Covid-19 and those caused by the pandemic.