Global COVID: Tracking countries with the most virus cases, deaths on Jan. 2, 2021

Identifying the top 15 countries currently most affected by the coronavirus pandemic

Pedestrians wear masks as they walk on Oxford Street in London, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. London is currently in Tier 4 with all non essential retail shops closed and people have been asked to stay at home, on what is usually one of the busiest retail days of the year with the traditional Boxing Day sales in shops. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (Kirsty Wigglesworth, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve around the world each day.

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Each week, we’ll provide updates on which countries have the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Data as of 1:23 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2021.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world is 84,267,466.

Countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases

  1. United States - 20,205,931 COVID cases
  2. India - 10,305,788 COVID cases
  3. Brazil - 7,700,578 COVID cases
  4. Russia - 3,179,898 COVID cases
  5. France - 2,697,121 COVID cases
  6. United Kingdom - 2,607,523 COVID cases
  7. Turkey - 2,232,035 COVID cases
  8. Italy - 2,141,201 COVID cases
  9. Spain - 1,928,265 COVID cases
  10. Germany - 1,773,080 COVID cases
  11. Colombia - 1,654,880 COVID cases
  12. Argentina - 1,629,594 COVID cases
  13. Mexico - 1,437,185 COVID cases
  14. Poland - 1,312,780 COVID cases
  15. Iran - 1,237,474 COVID cases

Since our last report: This is our first global report since October 2020, so we will not be comparing this week’s data to any of our previous reports. When we publish next week’s coronavirus data, we will compare it to the previous week, as we’ve done in the past.



The total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths around the world is 1,831,857.

Countries with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths

  1. United States - 348,411 COVID deaths
  2. Brazil - 195,411 COVID deaths
  3. India - 149,218 COVID deaths
  4. Mexico - 126,507 COVID deaths
  5. Italy - 74,985 COVID deaths
  6. United Kingdom - 74,682 COVID deaths
  7. France - 64,892 COVID deaths
  8. Russia - 57,235 COVID deaths
  9. Iran - 55,438 COVID deaths
  10. Spain - 50,837 COVID deaths
  11. Colombia - 43,495 COVID deaths
  12. Argentina - 43,319 COVID deaths
  13. Peru - 37,680 COVID deaths
  14. Germany - 34,238 COVID deaths
  15. Poland - 29,058 COVID deaths

Since our last report: This is our first global report since October 2020, so we will not be comparing this week’s data to any of our previous reports. When we publish next week’s coronavirus data, we will compare it to the previous week, as we’ve done in the past.

All data is sourced from Johns Hopkins University’s global COVID-19 data.

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About the Author:

Cassidy Johncox is a senior digital news editor covering stories across the spectrum, with a special focus on politics and community issues.