Background:

Between 2020 and 2021, Mexico documented 2.21 million fatalities, out of which 25.3% were attributable to SARS-COV-2 infection.

Objectives:

To evaluate COVID-19 mortality during 2020-2021, determine its impact on national- and state-level life expectancy at birth, and in a group of selected countries of the region, as well as to analyze it according to sociodemographic profiles.

Material and methods:

Data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study were used to report mortality, the impact on life expectancy and underlying causes between 2019 and 2021. A quadratic regression model was used to evaluate excess mortality as an indicator of the response of the states to the pandemic, considering their sociodemographic structure.

Results:

Between 2020 and 2021, 708,971 excess deaths were recorded, which decreased life expectancy at birth by 4.6 years; 76% of this reduction was attributed to COVID-19. The COVID-19 mortality rate was higher than expected according to the sociodemographic conditions of the states.

Conclusions:

In Mexico and the countries of the region, the pandemic was devastating and generated regressions in life expectancy at birth, which varied from two to nine years. Further investigation is required for understanding the variations on its effects.