Coronavirus: Trump says US mortality rate one of the world's lowest

President Donald Trump said the United States' coronavirus mortality rate is "one of the lowest of any country in the world" on Tuesday.

Dr. Deborah Birx, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, echoed the claim at a news briefing, saying the United States had "one of the lowest mortality rates in the entire world."

Neither Trump nor Birx cited a specific statistic or study to support their claims, but both used the mortality rate metric as evidence America is making progress in fighting coronavirus.

Here's where the U.S. ranks, according to data from John Hopkins University:

• The U.S. has the 33rd-highest mortality rate, measured as deaths divided by total cases, out of the 134 countries tracked by Johns Hopkins. That means more than 100 countries have lower mortality rates than the U.S., although many of those countries reported comparatively few cases.
• When compared only to the ten countries with the most cases, the U.S. ranks as the second-lowest mortality rate as a percentage of total cases. That means eight of those countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus have higher mortality rates than the U.S.
• The U.S. ranks 12th-highest in the world when it comes to deaths per 100,000 people.
• When mortality is measured per 100,000 people among the ten countries with the most cases, the U.S. ranks seventh, with Iran, Germany, and China reporting lower numbers of deaths per 100,000 people. 

Experts said Trump's comments glossed over the fact that under several metrics, the U.S. mortality rate is worse than that of many other countries. However, they cautioned that the lack of testing in the United States could lead to an undercounting of overall COVID-19 cases. If the total number of cases is actually higher, that would mean the current data might be overstating the death rate.

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