World

Coronavirus pandemic: Tracking the global outbreak

By The Visual and Data Journalism Team BBC News
  • 8 April 2020
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Spanish paramedics Image copyright Getty Images

There more than 1.4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in 184 countries and at least 82,000 people have died.

More than half of all the confirmed cases have been in Europe, with Spain and Italy worst affected. However, the United States now has more than twice as many confirmed cases as any other single country.

This series of maps and charts tracks the spread of the virus since it emerged in China in December last year.

How many deaths and recoveries have there been?

The virus is spreading rapidly in many countries and the death toll is still climbing - but the majority of people are recovering from the infection.

The country with the highest number of cases is the US, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. With almost 400,000 confirmed cases, it has close to five times the official number recorded in China.

China's official death toll from the outbreak is just over 3,300 - but the US, Italy, Spain and France have each recorded more than 10,000 deaths.

On Tuesday China reported no new deaths since it began publishing figures. Critics of the Chinese government, however, have questioned whether the country's official numbers can be trusted.

Coronavirus global cases, 8 April 2020

This information is regularly updated but may not reflect the latest totals for each country.

Cases Deaths
USA 399,139 12,877
Spain 141,942 14,045
Italy 135,586 17,127
France 109,069 10,328
Germany 107,663 2,016
China 82,783 3,337
Iran 62,589 3,872
UK 55,242 6,159
Turkey 34,109 725
Switzerland 22,253 821
Belgium 22,194 2,035
Netherlands 19,582 2,101
Canada 17,897 381
Brazil 14,049 688
Austria 12,639 243
Portugal 12,442 345
South Korea 10,384 200
Israel 9,248 65
Sweden 7,693 591
Russia 7,497 58
Norway 6,086 89
Australia 5,956 45
Ireland 5,709 210
India 5,356 160
Chile 5,116 43
Denmark 5,071 203
Czech Republic 5,017 88
Poland 4,848 129
Romania 4,417 197
Japan 4,257 93
Pakistan 4,062 58
Ecuador 3,995 220
Malaysia 3,963 63
Philippines 3,764 177
Luxembourg 2,970 44
Peru 2,954 107
Saudi Arabia 2,795 41
Mexico 2,785 141
Indonesia 2,738 221
Serbia 2,447 61
United Arab Emirates 2,359 12
Finland 2,308 34
Thailand 2,258 27
Panama 2,249 59
Qatar 2,057 6
Dominican Republic 1,956 98
Greece 1,832 81
Colombia 1,780 50
South Africa 1,749 13
Argentina 1,715 60
Iceland 1,586 6
Singapore 1,481 6
Algeria 1,468 193
Ukraine 1,462 45
Egypt 1,450 94
Croatia 1,282 18
New Zealand 1,210 1
Morocco 1,184 90
Estonia 1,149 21
Iraq 1,122 65
Slovenia 1,059 36
Moldova 1,056 22
Hungary 895 58
Lithuania 880 15
Belarus 861 13
Armenia 853 8
Bahrain 811 5
Bosnia and Herzegovina 764 33
Kuwait 743 1
Azerbaijan 717 8
Diamond Princess cruise ship 712 11
Kazakhstan 704 6
Cameroon 685 9
Tunisia 623 23
North Macedonia 599 26
Slovakia 581 2
Bulgaria 577 23
Puerto Rico 573 23
Lebanon 548 19
Latvia 548 2
Andorra 545 22
Uzbekistan 520 2
Cyprus 494 9
Costa Rica 483 2
Uruguay 424 7
Afghanistan 423 14
Cuba 396 11
Burkina Faso 384 19
Albania 383 22
Taiwan 376 5
Oman 371 2
Réunion 358
Jordan 353 6
Ivory Coast 349 3
Honduras 312 22
Malta 293
Ghana 287 5
San Marino 279 34
Niger 278 11
Mauritius 268 7
Palestinian Territories 261 1
Nigeria 254 6
Vietnam 251
Montenegro 241 2
Senegal 237 2
Kyrgyzstan 228 4
Bolivia 210 15
Georgia 196 3
Sri Lanka 185 6
Faroe Islands 184
DR Congo 180 18
Kenya 172 6
Mayotte 171 2
Jersey 170 3
Kosovo 170 4
Venezuela 166 7
Guernsey 166 4
Bangladesh 164 17
Martinique 152 4
Isle of Man 150 1
Guinea 144
Guadeloupe 139 7
Brunei 135 1
Guam 121 4
Paraguay 119 5
Cambodia 117
Gibraltar 113
Trinidad and Tobago 107 8
Rwanda 105
Djibouti 90
Madagascar 88
Guatemala 80 3
Monaco 79 1
El Salvador 78 4
Liechtenstein 78 1
French Guiana 77
Aruba 74
Togo 65 3
Barbados 63 3
Jamaica 63 3
Mali 56 5
Ethiopia 52 2
Uganda 52
French Polynesia 47
Cayman Islands 45 1
Congo 45 5
United States Virgin Islands 45 1
Sint Maarten 40 6
Zambia 39 1
Bermuda 39 2
Bahamas 36 6
Guyana 33 5
Guinea-Bissau 33
Saint Martin 32 2
Eritrea 31
Gabon 30 1
Benin 26 1
Haiti 25 1
Tanzania 24 1
Myanmar 22 1
Libya 20 1
Syria 19 2
Antigua and Barbuda 19 1
Maldives 19
New Caledonia 18
Angola 17 2
Namibia 16
Equatorial Guinea 16
Fiji 15
Dominica 15
Mongolia 15
Sudan 14 2
Liberia 14 3
Saint Lucia 14
Laos 14
Curaçao 13 1
Grenada 12
Seychelles 11
Saint Kitts and Nevis 11
Greenland 11
Zimbabwe 11 2
Suriname 10 1
Mozambique 10
Eswatini 10
Chad 10
Montserrat 9
MS Zaandam cruise ship 9 2
Nepal 9
Somalia 8
Central African Republic 8
Malawi 8 1
Northern Mariana Islands 8 2
St Vincent and the Grenadines 8
Turks and Caicos Islands 8 1
Cape Verde 7 1
Vatican 7
Belize 7 1
Nicaragua 6 1
Mauritania 6 1
Botswana 6 1
Saint Barthelemy 6
Sierra Leone 6
Bhutan 5
Western Sahara 4
Gambia 4 1
Sao Tome and Principe 4
Burundi 3
British Virgin Islands 3
Anguilla 3
Falkland Islands 2
Papua New Guinea 2
South Sudan 2
Timor-Leste 1
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1

Source: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies

Last updated on 8 April 2020, 07:00 BST.

The outbreak was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March. This is when an infectious disease is passing easily from person to person in many parts of the world at the same time.

The WHO said it took more than three months to reach the first 100,000 confirmed cases worldwide, but it took less than a week for the number to double from 500,000 to a million.

The true figure for the number of people with coronavirus is thought to be much higher as many of those with milder symptoms have not been tested and counted.

China has now lifted many of the stringent measures it took to bring the disease under control. On Wednesday authorities eased travel restrictions in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak began in late 2019.

South Korea, where a major outbreak began in February, has also seen the number of new cases fall in the last couple of weeks.

Governments across the world have halted flights, locked down towns and cities and urged people to stay at home.

Europe still struggling - but signs of hope?

European countries have seen steep rises in cases and deaths, but slowing infection rates are raising hopes that strict social distancing measures are curbing the spread of the virus.

Italy has the highest toll of any single country in the world, with more than 17,000 deaths so far.

Spain has reported nearly 14,000 deaths - the second highest of any country. There are now more than 140,000 confirmed cases in Spain, but data shows the rate of new cases is falling.

The Spanish government, which declared a state of emergency on 14 March, has suggested some restrictions, including keeping non-essential workers at home, could be lifted after Easter.

In Italy, there are cautious hopes that the country has turned a corner, with data in recent days suggesting that the infection rate is slowing.

The majority of deaths have occurred in the northern Lombardy region, which contains the city of Milan. Hospitals there were reportedly at breaking point and retired doctors and nurses were asked to return to work.

On Tuesday, France reported an increase of more than 600 deaths in 24 hours, putting the death toll at over 10,000 people - the fourth highest in the world after Italy, Spain and the US.

More than 30,000 people are currently hospitalised in France, 7,131 of them in intensive care, according to the country's health ministry.

In the UK, there have been more than 55,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,100 deaths. The country's first emergency field hospital, built in London's ExCel Centre, was opened last week. The NHS Nightingale hospital, as it has been called, has space for 4,000 intensive care beds. Others are planned across the UK.

In Spain and the UK, deaths grew rapidly at first, doubling faster than every two days. That rate of increase has now slowed to doubling between every second and third day.

Italy's death rate has also slowed, while that of the US is continuing in roughly a straight line, doubling about every three days at present.

Cases rising quickly in the US

With close to 400,000 cases - some 140,000 in New York state alone - the US has more confirmed infections than any other country.

On Tuesday the US recorded the highest coronavirus toll in a single day for any country with 1,800 deaths.

The overall total is now more than 12,000.

Nearly all Americans are now living under some form of lockdown as states increase efforts to curb the outbreak.

President Trump has said that the US might be getting to the top of the "curve" in terms of new cases.

However, federal coronavirus guidelines, such as social distancing, will be extended across the country until at least 30 April.

On Sunday, Mr Trump warned Americans to prepare for the "toughest week" of the coronavirus pandemic yet, predicting a surge in deaths.

The outbreak is having a major economic impact, with figures showing the number of people without jobs surging to a record high of nearly 6.6 million in the week ending 28 March. That is nearly double the week earlier, which was also a new record. The previous record was set in 1982, when unemployment claims hit 695,000.

Which countries are on lockdown?

The majority of countries in Europe now have strict lockdowns in place, with many only allowed citizens to leave their homes to buy essential items or exercise. In Paris, authorities have even banned exercise during the day to reduce the number of people out on the streets.

India's government told the country's 1.3 billion residents to stay at home last month and there are similar restrictions on movement and social contact across the world in countries like Argentina, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Data on planned journeys in major cities, from the travel app Citymapper, shows how people in places like London, Madrid, Istanbul and New York are now moving around far less than they were a few weeks ago.

The data shows that while Milan in northern Italy has been locked down for several weeks now, many other cities have been restricting movement for a much shorter period.

While movement is also down in the South Korean capital Seoul, the city hasn't ground to a halt like European capitals despite facing huge numbers of coronavirus cases - a sign of the country's decision to focus on widespread testing and contact tracing rather than imposing a lockdown.

In Russia, the Kremlin had insisted that there was "de facto no epidemic" in the country but last week President Putin urged people to stay at home, which explains the significant drop in movement in Moscow.

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