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.
![](https://viz.aihw.gov.au:443/t/Public/views/PHE229_Figure4_1Numberofdeathsandage-specificratesper100000populationinAustraliaduetoCOVID19byageandsex2022_06062024/Figure4_1.png?:embed=y&:showVizHome=no&:display_spinner=no&:host_url=https%3a%2f%2fviz.aihw.gov.au)