India recorded 8.6 mn deaths in 2022, down 15% from Covid peak: CRS data

India registered 8.6 million deaths in 2022, a 15% drop from 2021's Covid peak, while births rose by 5% to 25.4 million, according to Civil Registration System data released by the Registrar General

India saw over 8.6 million registered deaths in 2022, marking a drop of more than 15 per cent compared to the 10.2 million deaths recorded in 2021, according to data from the Civil Registration System (CRS). This decline of 1.5 million deaths brought the country’s mortality figures back in line with levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The CRS report, released by the Office of the Registrar General of India and accessed by the Press Trust of India, highlighted the abnormal rise in deaths during 2021, when the second wave of the pandemic took a severe toll. In contrast, deaths in 2020 were 8.1 million, in 2019 they stood at 7.6 million, and in 2018, 6.9 million.

 

“In the case of registered deaths, the number has decreased from 10.2 million in 2021 to 8.6 million in 2022, i.e. a decrease of 15.4 per cent. Some of the major states, namely, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana have contributed significantly to the decreased number of registered deaths,” the report stated.

Government challenges WHO’s Covid estimates

As of July 26, 2022, the Indian government reported 526,000 deaths due to Covid-19. However, the World Health Organisation had estimated over 4.7 million Covid-linked deaths in India, a claim that was firmly rejected by the Indian government.

 

“India had registered a strong objection to the process, methodology and outcome of this unscientific modelling approach especially when India had provided authentic data published through the Civil Registration System by Registrar General of India to WHO,” the government stated in a response in the Lok Sabha on July 29, 2022.

Rise in registered births in 2022

The CRS report also revealed that over 25.4 million births were registered in 2022 — an increase from 24.2 million in 2021, reflecting a growth of about 5.1 per cent.

 

“The number of registered births has increased from 24.2 million in 2021 to 25.4 million in 2022,” the report said.

 

Nearly all states and Union Territories saw an increase in birth registrations, except for Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep.

 

“Nine major states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Assam have contributed significantly to the increase in registered births in 2022 over 2021,” the report added.

 

“On the other hand, a decrease in registered births in six figures has been observed in two major states, namely West Bengal and Bihar during 2021-2022,” it said.