INFOGRAPHICS. Why is January 3 the day when the most people die in France?

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This is a sad record to start 2025 and yet it is far from being anecdotal: you knew that January 3 is the deadliest day of the year? It is the very serious National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) which says this, with supporting figures.

A trend observed from data from “the last twenty years, from 2004 to 2023”, we can read in a study dated October 30, 2024. And what's more, it can be explained by several factors.

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A symbolic deadline

With an estimated average number of deaths to 1900“compared to 1,600 over the entire period”, INSEE confirms that January 3 is “the deadliest day of the year”. In question, first of all: Christmas time and family time.

“The desire to spend these holidays with loved ones, as well as that of reaching a new year, could delay the occurrence of death of people at the end of life and partly explain this peak,” indicates the national institute in its study.

Resumption of surgical operations

Second line of thought: it is during this period that scheduled surgical operations resume . Between the Christmas holidays and the two public holidays(December 25 and January 1), operations are instead planned around January 2 or 3.

Hospital deaths decrease more on public holidays: for example, -5% at Christmas compared to the 3 preceding and following days, compared to -2% for all places of death combined.

According to the High Authority for Health (HAS), up to a quarter of patients “present complications after an invasive procedure.

The crude mortality rate reported after major surgery is between 0.5 and 5%.

Winter generally more deadly than summer (especially for seniors)

Finally, INSEE highlights the fact that winter is the deadliest time of the yearunlike summer (heatwave episode aside, like that of 2003). In particular: in the summer, the circulation of seasonal viruses is “less” compared to winter.

The summer months (June, July, August and September) were the least deadly, with a lower mortality of -8% or -9% compared to the entire period. […]. The winter months were the deadliest, with excess mortality of +9% in December, +14% in January, +12% in February and +6% in March.

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This trend is particularly strong among older people. “Thus, people aged 90 or over actually experience lower mortality in June, July and August (-14%) and higher mortality in January (+ 21%) and February (+ 18%),” figures the INSEE.

The youngest, conversely, are more likely to die during the summer: “those aged 1-17 experience excess mortality in July (+11%) and those aged 18-29 in June (+3%), July (+7%) and August (+6%). Young people die more frequently on the road or in a public place.”

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