The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented health crisis and it is key for researchers and policy-makers to monitor its development. National authorities publish COVID-19 death counts, which are extensively re-circulated, commented and compared; but data are generally poorly sourced and documented. Academics and stakeholders need tools to assess data quality and to track data-related discrepancies for comparability over time or across countries. Our project, a continuously updated database of COVID-19 death counts by sex and age as well as place of death where available, aims at bridging this gap. Official counts are collected and their formats harmonized. Data series are then published with associated documentation, which includes the exact sources and points out issues of quality and coverage of the data, where and when warranted. As of mid-September 2020, the database (dc-covid.site.ined.fr/en) includes 16 countries in Europe and beyond. The poster describes the approach and content of the database.