COVID-19 Stats in Comparison with Populations of Countries

So with all the media and other attention about COVID, I have been wondering about the numbers of cases and deaths.  While I sincerely believe each death is a tragedy and should be mourned equally as much as anything as they were EACH a member of our human family with a father and mother and possibly siblings, uncles, aunts, children and grandchildren, it seems that we are not really able to compare how each country is faring with their abilities to react and control the spread of the virus.  Each country has had to chart their own way and it would be helpful for them to compare how they are doing in relation to the others around them, but the numbers of cases and deaths just cannot do that fairly.

SO, I decided to try a very simple comparison to the case numbers and deaths in relation to the population of each country.  I know there are many other ways to compare the numbers but this is my shot at it.

Here are the numbers as I have calculated them today, March 19, 2020.  Sorry, it looks like my table programming is lacking but I think the important numbers are there.  Of course these will change as the numbers increase but this could be a very good snapshot in time of where the top 8 countries are in their efforts and in my opinion helps us compare their responses' effectiveness.

Comparison of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Population of Country

	Country	Population	COVID-19 Cases	Deaths	Cases per capita	Cases per 100,000 people	Deaths per capita	Deaths per 1,000,000  people
1	China	1,439,323,776	81,155	3,249	0.0000564	5.6	0.00000226	2.3
2	Italy	60,461,826	41,035	3,405	0.0006787	67.9	0.00005632	56.3
3	Iran	83,992,949	18,407	1,284	0.0002191	21.9	0.00001529	15.3
4	Spain	46,754,778	17,395	803	0.0003720	37.2	0.00001717	17.2
5	Germany	83,783,942	14,481	43	0.0001728	17.3	0.00000051	0.5
6	US	331,002,651	11,699	174	0.0000353	3.5	0.00000053	0.5
7	France	65,273,511	9,058	243	0.0001388	13.9	0.00000372	3.7
8	Korea, South	51,269,185	8,565	91	0.0001671	16.7	0.00000177	1.8

Now, I also had to create a way to show a number that can be understood since 0.0000564 under China Cases per capita is kind of hard to translate so I converted the cases per capita to cases per 100,000 people and deaths per capita to deaths per 1,000,000 people.

As can be seen by the numbers, the different countries' responses have had different results.  China has the most cases but the Cases per 100,000 people are near the bottom while Italy and Spain are near the top.  BUT under the Deaths per 1,000,000 people China is in the middle of the pack while the US and Germany are doing the best.

All around, I like this comparison better since it gives each country an idea of how they are doing in relation to their population and may highlight that more should or should not be done.  It also helps the citizens see and understand how things are faring.

It has been over 100 years since anything of this magnitude has taken place and I know it is scary but if we all do our part as members of each country and society, do as we are instructed and follow the health officials guidance, I know that we shall pull through this.

God Bless, stay healthy and safe!

Mike Robison