By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Balkan countries are placed among the top five in COVID-19 fatalities per 1 million people, according to the data-tracking website Worldometer.
With 5,974 deaths per million, Peru tops the list, followed by Bulgaria with 3,903, Bosnia and Herzegovina with 3,745, Montenegro 3,545, and North Macedonia with 3,536 fatalities.
Authorities in these countries have recently raised the capacities of hospitals and introduced mandatory vaccination cards as the fourth wave of the pandemic hit the region.
Experts believe that low vaccination rates are among the main causes of high fatality rates.
With 24.17%, EU-member Bulgaria has the lowest vaccination rate against COVID-19 and a record number of 310 deaths daily.
Bulgaria has so far recorded almost 666,000 cases and nearly 27,000 deaths, with nearly 3,000 infections and 164 fatalities in a single day. More than 90% of hospitalized patients in the country are not vaccinated.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a vaccination rate of 22% and North Macedonia's rate stands at 37.7%, while Croatia (51.4%) and Montenegro (82%) have registered rates above 50%.