NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 990,000 on Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The global death toll rose to 990,738, while there were more than 32.6 million cases worldwide as of 3:23 p.m. (1923 GMT), the CSSE data showed.

The United States remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with 7,065,019 cases and 204,249 deaths, making up more than 20 percent of the global death toll.

Brazil recorded the world's second largest death toll of 140,537, followed by India with 93,379 fatalities.

Countries with over 30,000 fatalities also include Mexico, Britain, Italy, Peru, France and Spain.