I remember years ago, as a day to day motorcycle rider in Brazil, that I couldn't understand how their motorcycle rider death on the raids could possibly be so low.
Then I found out that Ambulance drivers got paid according to how many people they picked up and did not get paid a bonus for picking up dead bodies.
At the same time the traffic police were targeted on reducing road deaths.
Consequently both Ambulance staff and traffic police were better off if the person wasn't dead. So, as is the way in Brazil, he wasn't.
Their death while under medical care statistics were horrendous though. So very many died in the ambulance. Whereas the UK, for example, was all about what caused their death, not when they actually died.
My somewhat convoluted point being, it is almost impossible to have figures counted by the same criteria all the way through the system and across countries. And that's even before you get to the level of Trump/Putin type truth bending.
I'd say that Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the UK are doing their best to count honestly within their own systems, standards and procedures - which will produce differences.
I should think Russia is swayed both by information control, and by the fact that information from the more remote parts takes a very long time to get through.
I shall be interested to see the figures after year or two, if I am lucky enough to be here to see them. Despite constant claims from everywhere that China is lying, I actually think they're probably not. I wonder if I shall be proven to be a fool.
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