US Excess Deaths: 1980-Present (14M+)
- The United States has experienced considerably higher mortality rates compared to other high-income countries in recent decades, resulting in a substantial number of excess deaths.
- persisted even after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly affecting younger adults.
- Jacob Bor, PhD, lead study author and associate professor at Boston University School of Public Health, told Healio that deaths of despair—including drug overdoses, alcohol-related deaths, and...
The U.S. saw over 14.7 million excess deaths from 1980 to 2023 compared to other high-income nations. This study reveals significant US mortality disparities, primarily driven by “deaths of despair” and cardiometabolic issues, affecting younger adults disproportionately. The research, highlighted by News Directory 3, underscores the critical need for addressing these alarming trends. Discover how the U.S. mortality rate ratios compare to other countries and what factors contribute to this concerning phenomenon as the gap continues to exist. Delve into the details and explore the future implications.
U.S.Mortality Rates Exceed Those of Other High-Income Nations
Updated May 30, 2025
The United States has experienced considerably higher mortality rates compared to other high-income countries in recent
decades, resulting in a substantial number of excess deaths. A study in JAMA Health Forum highlights this
disparity, defining “excess deaths” as those that could have been avoided if the U.S. had matched the mortality
rates of its peers.
Data derived from: Bor J, et al. JAMA Health Forum. 2025; two: 10.1001/Jamahealthforum.2025.1118.
The trend of higher mortality in the U.S. persisted even after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly affecting younger
adults.
Jacob Bor, PhD, lead study author and associate professor at Boston University School of Public Health, told Healio
that deaths of despair—including drug overdoses, alcohol-related deaths, and suicides—and cardiometabolic deaths
linked to heart disease and diabetes are the primary drivers of this excess mortality.
Bor added, “In the U.S., people die much younger from those causes than in other places. There are also higher rates
of homicides and transportation accidents.”
The analysis, conducted by Bor and his team, examined all-cause mortality data from the Human Mortality Database
between 1980 and 2023, comparing the U.S. with 21 other high-income countries, including the U.K., Japan, and
Canada. The data included 107,586,398 deaths in the U.S. and 230,208,265 deaths in the comparison countries.
Over One Million Excess U.S. Deaths After Pandemic
Researchers found that the U.S. experienced 14,735,913 excess deaths during the study period compared to other
high-income nations.
The U.S. age-standardized mortality rate ratios,compared to the averages of other high-income countries,were:
- 1.2 in 2010
- 1.28 in 2019
- 1.46 in 2021
- 1.3 in 2023
Annual excess deaths in the U.S. peaked at 1,008,369 in 2020 and 1,098,808 in 2021 before decreasing to 820,396 in
2022 and 705,331 in 2023. However, the 2023 figure remained tens of thousands higher than the 2019 total of 631,247
deaths, according to a press release from Boston University.
In 2023, excess U.S. deaths accounted for 22.9% of all deaths and 46% of deaths among americans younger than 65.Mortality among Americans aged 25 to 44 was 2.6 times higher than in other high-income countries.
Bor and colleagues noted limitations to the study, including potential sensitivity to the choice of comparison
countries, the use of provisional data for some countries in 2023, and the lack of stratification to investigate
differences by sex, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
‘The Wrong Direction’
elizabeth Wrigley-Field,PhD,study co-author and associate professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota,
told Healio that the number of excess American deaths in 2023 aligns with predictions based on prior rising trends,
even without the pandemic.
“The big story here is about a long-term american disadvantage when it comes to keeping our populace alive into old
age,” she said. “Then, the COVID-19 pandemic gets layered on top of that, and the U.S.did substantially worse in
the pandemic,too.”
Wrigley-field also noted that excess mortality among Americans aged 25 to 44 was 34.6% higher than anticipated in
2019, raising concerns about potential future implications.
Bor expressed uncertainty about the impact of recent developments in American health care, such as