India registered more than 10 million deaths in 2021, marking a sharp increase of over 2.1 million compared to 2020, according to two key reports released this week by the Registrar General of India (RGI). The data, published after a five-year gap, offers clearer insights into the devastating impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) for 2021 reported a 26% rise in registered deaths, from 8.12 million in 2020 to 10.22 million in 2021. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the number of registered deaths stood at 7.59 million.A second report, Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2021, also compiled by the RGI, highlighted a major surge in fatalities caused by COVID-19. The number of deaths attributed to the virus rose from 1,60,618 in 2020 to 4,13,580 in 2021. This included 2,67,363 male deaths, 1,46,215 female deaths, and two transgender fatalities.
Of the total 10.22 million deaths in 2021, 2.4 million were medically certified—5.83 lakh more than in 2020.Cumulatively, the RGI reports placed the total number of COVID-related deaths in 2020 and 2021 at 5,74,198. However, this differs from the Union Health Ministry’s official COVID-19 dashboard, which reported 5,33,665 deaths due to the virus as of May 5, 2025.Also Read: India’s chemists demand the rollback of this COVID-era ruleWhen broken down by medical causes, diseases of the circulatory system—including cardiac and pulmonary conditions—accounted for the highest share (29.8%) of all medically certified deaths. COVID-19 followed as the second leading cause (17.3%), ahead of respiratory diseases (12.7%) and infectious/parasitic illnesses (6.1%).Notably, COVID-19 climbed from being the third leading cause of death in 2020 to the second in 2021.The rise in registered deaths was concentrated in several populous states and union territories, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi, among others.In contrast, birth registrations remained largely stable, with a slight decline of 0.1%—from 242.2 lakh in 2020 to 242.0 lakh in 2021, the CRS report noted.Also Read: India recalls public health officials from leave as conflict with Pakistan escalates
