TIRANA, Oct. 23 – The official number of COVID-19 related deaths in Albania is far lower than the actual number of deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic, several international findings now suggest.
While official data is heavily affected by factors such as testing capacity and disparate definitions of what constitutes a death caused by COVID-19, international statisticians are increasingly looking at the increase in mortality rate figure to get a full picture of the pandemic’s toll.
On that metric, Albania performs as one of the most heavily hit places in Europe so far, together with North Macedonia, Kosovo and Czechia, among several others.
But when only 2020 is taken into consideration, Albania had Europe’s highest excess mortality rate, likely directly linked to the pandemic, according to data seen in an IMF report issued this week.
The IMF’s report contains a graphic that shows that in 2020, there was a 20 percent increase in deaths in Albania compared to the 2015-2019 average.
President Ilir Meta called on authorities to look into the discrepancy and review the official data.
“Albania’s ranking as one of the countries with the highest mortality rate is alarming and should be taken seriously as it comes in a country with a young median age compared to EU countries,” Meta said in a statement.
The underreporting is not unique to Albania, however. Worldwide, the official death toll is believed to be drastically underreported. The Economist reported in May that there were an estimated 7-13 million excess deaths globally during the pandemic, some two to four times higher than the official COVID-19 mortality figure at the time.
A a study published last month in eLife Journal, looked at most of the world for the numbers, providing compelling evidence for the undercount.
According to that study, Until March 2021, Albania had 9,300 excess deaths, compared to the 2,200 official number of pandemic deaths reported at that time.
Albanian opposition representatives have taken the issue further, accusing the government of purposefully undercounting the number of pandemic-related deaths to hide its failures in managing the pandemic.
“It’s a crime,” said Tritan Shehu of the Democratic Party, noting 16,000 Albanians had actually died from COVID-19, when the official number is reaching 2,900. “While the Albanians are dying in high numbers, the government continues without any responsibility and without any abilities.”
The government denies such claims and says its handling of the pandemic has been a success.
“We are proud as a government that Albania did not fall on its knees during the pandemic, and was able to stand strong thanks to its great doctors, nurses and thanks to our infrastructure and experts,” Prime Minister Edi Rama said in parliament on Sept. 16.
He added early access to vaccines prevented more deaths.
