Recent news reports informed us that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States had topped one million, with our country accounting for one-third of all of the reported cases worldwide.
At the same time, our population in the United States accounts for less than 5% of the world’s population. We rank third among countries in total population behind China and India. The population of China is more than four times the size of the population of the United States. The same holds true for India.
My curiosity was aroused, so I did some digging.
The Worldometer website, for instance, features a wealth of information on the coronavirus. Information is available on the number of cases, new cases, active cases, deaths, and tests overall and by per-million population for 212 countries and territories
The information is reportedly based on data that the non-profit organization collects directly from official government communication channels. The organization is cited as one of the best, free reference websites by the American Library Association.
The coronavirus data is constantly being updated so what you see today will not be the same as what is was yesterday or what you will see tomorrow. Of course, the data is highly dependent on the accuracy of information provided on official government communication channels.
I thought the information I found might be of interest.
As of today, the top ten countries reporting the most confirmed coronavirus cases together totaled nearly 73% of the nearly 4 million reported cases worldwide.
The top 10 countries were as follows:
Rank |
Country |
% of Worldwide Total |
#1 |
United States |
32.8% |
#2 |
Spain |
6.6% |
#3 |
Italy |
5.5% |
#4 |
United Kingdom |
5.2% |
#5 |
Russia |
4.8% |
#6 |
France |
4.4% |
#7 |
Germany |
4.3% |
#8 |
Brazil |
3.5% |
#9 |
Turkey |
3.4% |
#10 |
Iran |
2.7% |
China ranked at #11, with 2.1% of the total number of worldwide cases. India accounted for 1.5% of the cases.
What is noticeable is the difference in testing. India reported that less than 1.5 million tests have been done, or less than 1,050 tests per million individuals. China was one of the few countries/territories were data on testing was apparently not available. The number of tests in the United States topped 8.3 million, equating to nearly 25,150 per million population.
Sampling of # of Tests per One Million Population
Denmark |
51,533 |
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51,172 |
Portugal |
49,204 |
Belgium |
44,451 |
Ireland |
43,493 |
Spain |
41,332 |
Italy |
39,385 |
Norway |
36,140 |
Russia |
34,125 |
Switzerland |
33,350 |
Germany |
32,891 |
Singapore |
30,016 |
Canada |
26,636 |
United States |
25,143 |
United Kingdom |
22,605 |
Finland |
21,206 |
France |
21,213 |
Sweden |
14,704 |
Netherlands |
14,570 |
South Korea |
12,773 |
Poland |
11,719 |
Iran |
6,654 |
Brazil |
1,597 |
Japan |
1,502 |
Turkey |
1,500 |
India |
1,042 |
Mexico |
860 |
China |
Data Not Available |
Where the picture begins to really change is when you factor in a country’s population base. I looked at the number of cases per million individuals for countries that had a population base of one million people or more. There were 16 countries that had 2,000 or more confirmed cases per one million individuals, with the United States ranking as number five.
Number Coronavirus Cases per One Million Population
Rank |
Country |
# of Cases per Million |
#1 |
Qatar |
7,012 |
#2 |
Spain |
5,563 |
#3 |
Ireland |
4,533 |
#4 |
Belgium |
4,488 |
#5 |
United States |
3,909 |
#6 |
Singapore |
3,710 |
#7 |
Italy |
3,570 |
#8 |
Switzerland |
3,490 |
#9 |
United Kingdom |
3,045 |
#10 |
France |
2,678 |
#11 |
Portugal |
2,674 |
#12 |
Bahrain |
2,588 |
#13 |
Sweden |
2,502 |
#14 |
Netherlands |
2,457 |
#15 |
Germany |
2,022 |
#16 |
Belarus |
2,134 |
Worldwide, the average number of confirmed cases per one million was 506, with China reporting 58 and India reporting 42 cases per million.
I also looked at the percentage of cases that resulted in death for the 16 countries that reported 2,000 or more coronavirus cases per one million individuals. Seven of the 16 countries have rates that currently are significantly higher than the United States.
% of Coronavirus Cases with Death as Outcome
Rank |
Country |
% of Cases that Died |
#1 |
Belgium |
16.4% |
#2 |
France |
14.9% |
#3 |
United Kingdom |
14.8% |
#4 |
Italy |
13.9% |
#5 |
Netherlands |
12.7% |
#6 |
Sweden |
12.5% |
#7 |
Spain |
10.1% |
#8 |
Ireland |
6.3% |
#9 |
Switzerland |
6.0% |
#9 |
United States |
6.0% |
#11 |
Germany |
4.4% |
#12 |
Portugal |
4.1% |
#13 |
Belarus |
0.6% |
#14 |
Bahrain |
0.2% |
#15 |
Qatar |
0.1% |
#16 |
Singapore |
0.1% |
In the weeks and months that lie ahead, I am sure that there will be plenty of changes to the numbers as the information is updated to reflect the impact that the coronavirus is having on countries around the globe.
If the wide ranges of experiences continue from country to country, I am sure that researchers will be looking at all kinds of factors to explain the differences, including how prepared a country was; the steps taken to minimize possible exposure; availability, or lack thereof, of testing and personal protective equipment; demographic, socioeconomic and genetic factors; treatment protocols; and the accuracy of the data.
We welcome your thoughts.