COVID-19 deaths

There were 9,859 deaths due to COVID-19 registered in 2022, accounting for 5.2% of all deaths in Australia. 

The number (and rates) of deaths increased with increasing age (Figure 4.1). In 2022, 3% of all COVID-19 deaths were among those aged under 55, whereas 53% of deaths occurred among those aged 85 and over (Table S4.1). 

Males generally had a higher number and rate of death due to COVID-19 (Figure 4.1). In 2022, males:

  • accounted for more than half of all COVID-19 deaths (5,484 compared with 4,375 female deaths)
  • had a higher number and rate of COVID-19 deaths than females for all age groups except the youngest and oldest age groups.
  • over 50 had a death rate between 1.5 and 2.1 times as high as females in the same age groups.

For the latest statistics on deaths due to COVID-19, see Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Provisional Mortality Statistics.

Figure 4.1: Number of deaths and age-specific rates (per 100,000 population) in Australia due to COVID-19, by age and sex, 2022

The bar graph shows that the number and rate of deaths due to COVID-19 increased with increasing age. The number and rate were higher for males except for the 0–14 and 85+ age groups.

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