South Africa has registered a total of more than 100,000 Covid deaths, according to official figures, but actual fatalities are believed to be much higher.

Data released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases showed a total of 100,020 fatalities had occurred since the start of the pandemic two years ago, AFP reports.

The institute reported 44 deaths on Wednesday, but only six were from the past two days, while the rest were discovered during an ongoing government audit.

Covid-19 fatalities are estimated to be higher than officially reported, with researchers saying they could be triple the reported figures.