Lithuania registered 13 percent more deaths in 2020 than in 2019, the country's statistics office said on Thursday.
"This is the largest increase in deaths in a year since 1990," Inga Masiulaitytė-Šukevič, deputy director-general at Statistics Lithuania, told reporters.
A total of 43,400 people died in the country last year, 5,100, or 13.3 percent, more than in 2019. The number of deaths per 1,000 population increased to 15.5 in 2020 from 13.7 a year ago, it said.
The monthly number of deaths increased to 4,300 last November and surged to 5,800 in December, compared to the average monthly number of over 3,600 people, according to Masiulaitytė-Šukevič.
"We recorded one of the biggest jumps in mortality," she said.
The official described the 2020 death statistics as worrying.
Read more: ‘Unprecedented’ rise in excess deaths among Lithuanians over 50 – statistics office
"The 13 percent rise in deaths is really worrying," she said, adding that the reasons behind the increase in mortality include "both insufficient supply of health products and a lack of access to certain medical services".
Meanwhile, the number of births dropped to the lowest level in the last three decades. Some 24,500 babies were born last year, a decline of 11 percent from 2019.
The highest number of births were registered in July and August, accounting for 10 percent of all births, and the lowest number was recorded in February, March and December, according to Masiulaityte-Sukevic.
"The decline in births is also worrying, because we had a more economically stable situation [before the coronavirus pandemic]," the official said. "We'll see in the coming months and next year what impact the lockdown is having on birth rates."
"The overall situation isn't very encouraging," she added.
Demographic processes affected by pandemic
Professor Domantas Jasilionis of Vytautas Magnus University noted that demographic processes have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
"We saw the number births hit a record low in 2020," he said. "This is due to many things, including, of course, the pandemic, but the lockdown may have consequences in either direction. We'll probably see that in a few months."
"However, the economic fallout from the pandemic will likely adversely affect the birth rate over the next few years," according to Jasilionis. "A decline in marriage indicators is signaling this, too".
Lithuania registered 15,000 marriages and 7,400 divorces last year, down by 22.1 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively.
The number of divorces per 100 marriages rose to 48.9 last year, from 44.5 in 2019.
Although migration processes can slightly adjust demographic indicators, it is the low birth rate that plays the biggest role, and the current situation indicates that the demographic situation is likely to worsen in the future, Jasilionis said.
The scientist noted that the average life expectancy for men in Lithuania had reached 71 in 2019, seven years more than in 2007.
"The pandemic has brutally changed that situation," he said, noting that mortality in Lithuania is already higher than in Western European countries.
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