Pre-Vaccine Era COVID-19 Infection Fatality Ratio Estimates by Age, Time, and Location 2020-2021

This dataset contains estimates of the COVID-19 infection-fatality ratio (IFR) for global populations during the period April 15, 2020 to January 1, 2021. IFR is defined as the probability of an individual dying from COVID-19 once infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In these files, IFR is expressed as a percent: deaths divided by infections multiplied by 100. Location-specific estimates include 190 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in 11 countries and territories. Specific time points for each location include April 15, 2020; July 15, 2020; October 15, 2020; and January 1, 2021. The age-specific IFR estimates are time-invariant and pool data from all locations with age-stratified data; only data from prior to vaccine introduction in each location was used for the age-specific estimates. The analytic process that produced these estimates accounted for several known biases, such as under-reporting of COVID-19 deaths and the waning sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests.