ABSTRACT
Mortality statistics tend to be inaccurate because of the imperfections related to individual deaths' recording. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought controversies regarding the quantification of deaths in many countries. Mainly, controversies were fueled by the sudden change of the criteria being applied, the limited testing and tracing capacities, and the collapse of the healthcare system. This work analyses the case of Spain, which constitutes one of the European countries with the highest number of cases and deaths during the 'first wave', and where these numbers were highly controversial. It provides a discussion about the coherence, traceability, and limitations of quantitative data sources, as a basis to improve the quality of the data and its comparability between different countries and over time. Official data sources and non-official data sources are considered. Finally, suggestions of improvement and research needs are gathered, for the reliability of mortality data as a way to enhance learning and resilience for future crises. © 2021 Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM. All rights reserved.