Mortality

Regional differences Urban and rural differentials Social status differentials Gender differentials Important age differentials

Regional Differences in Mortality

There are significant differences in mortality among regions and countries in the world. These may be attributable to various things such as the epidemiological transition or the societal wealth of a particular region.

Death rates

List of countries by death rates

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Angola Afghanistan South Africa Nigeria Russia Ukraine Chad Guinea-Bissau Lesotho Central African Republic 15.01 23.40 17.39 17.09 16.06 16.04 15.74 15.47 15.27 15.19 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Somalia Swaziland Bulgaria Mali Niger Serbia Belarus Latvia Zimbabwe Estonia 14.87 14.60 14.32 14.29 14.11 13.85 13.77 13.60 13.58 13.55

List of countries by death rates

39 40 41 89 105 131 132 133 134 Germany Japan Italy USA Canada Hong Kong China Yemen Taiwan 10.92 10.09 9.84 8.38 7.98 7.07 7.03 7.02 7.00 185 Philippines 188 Singapore 189 Malaysia 220 Jordan 221 Bahrain 222 Qatar 223 Kuwait 224 UAE World 5.02 4.95 4.93 2.69 2.61 2.43 2.11 2.06 8.12

Death rates
Whether a country or a region has a high or low death rate can be attributed to factors such as its societal wealth, the advancement in its medical technology, its health issues or the age structure of its population.

Life Expectancy

List of countries by life expectancy

Country 1 Monaco 2 Macau 3 San Marino 4 Andorra 5 Japan 6 Guernsey 7 Singapore Overall 89.73 84.41 83.01 82.43 82.25 82.16 82.14 Male 85.77 81.45 80.50 80.35 78.96 79.50 79.53 Female 93.84 87.52 85.74 84.64 85.72 84.95 84.96

8 Hong Kong
9 Australia 10 Italy

82.04
81.81 81.77

79.32
79.40 79.16

84.97
84.35 84.53

List of countries by life expectancy

Country 11 Jersey 12 Canada 13 France 14 Spain 15 Switzerland 16 Sweden 17 Israel 18 Iceland Overall 81.38 81.38 81.19 81.17 81.07 81.07 80.96 80.90 Male 78.96 78.81 78.02 78.16 78.24 78.78 78.79 78.72 Female 83.94 84.10 84.54 84.37 84.05 83.51 83.24 83.17

19 Anguilla 20 Bermuda

80.87 80.71

78.32 77.49

83.51 83.99

List of countries by life expectancy

Country 44 European Union 50 USA 133 Philippines 160 World 162 Russia 216 South Africa 218 Swaziland 219 Chad Overall 78.82 78.37 71.66 67.07 66.29 49.33 48.66 48.33 Male 75.70 75.92 68.72 65.21 59.80 50.24 48.93 47.28 Female 82.13 80.93 74.74 69.05 73.17 48.39 48.39 49.43

220 Nigeria 221 Afghanistan

222 Angola

47.56 45.02
38.76

46.76 44.79
37.74

48.41 45.25
39.83

Life expectancy
Whether a country or a region has a high or low life expectancy can be attributed to factors such as its societal wealth, the advancement in its medical technology, its health issues, cultural practices and lifestyles of its people.

Regional Differences in Mortality

Urban and Rural Differentials

More than a century ago, urban areas generally have lower life expectancies and higher death rates due to unfavorable living conditions.

Urban and Rural Differentials

For example, *i]n 1851, a boy born in inner Liverpool had a life expectancy of only 26 years, compared with a boy born in the small market town of Okehampton, who could expect to live to 57. (Daunton, 2004)

Urban and Rural Differentials

Death rate in 19th century London was high: 1840s: 25.2 per 1,000; 1850s: 23.6 per 1,000; 1860s: 24.3 per thousand. (Brown, 2004)

Urban and Rural Differentials

However, urban areas benefited more from the advances in medicine, sanitation and the environment than the rural areas. This led to better living conditions in the urban areas.

Urban and Rural Differentials

Social Status Differentials

Even in mortality, there are social status inequalities. Those who have better statuses in the society are generally at lower risk of death and may expect a longer life.

Social Status Differentials

On the other hand, those who have lower statuses are at greater risk. Moreover, Marx attributed the higher death rate in the working classes to the evils of capitalism and argued that mortality differentials would disappear in a socialist society. (pp. 191)

Occupational Differentials
On average, laborers have higher mortality rates than professional men and women. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most dangerous jobs in the US include fishers, timber cutters and loggers, and aircraft pilots and engineers in 2009.

Occupational Differentials

Social Status Differentials: Occupation

Occupational Differentials

Income and Education

There is an inverse relationship between income and mortality as well as between educational attainment and mortality. Poor and poorly educated generally have lower life expectancies.

Race and Ethnicity

In most societies, the dominance of some groups and the subordination of others generally put the subordinated ones in a socially and economically disadvantaged position.

Race and Ethnicity

Thus, subordinated groups generally have higher risks at death and lower life expectancies

Life expectancy by race and ethnicity in the USA

Race/ethnicity Total population White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander American Indian Females 74.5 75.0 68.4 77.6 82.0 77.0 Males 79.8 80.1 75.3 83.4 87.2 82.2

Marital Status
It is said that married people tend to live longer than married people. There are two possible explanations:
Marriage is selective of healthy people. Marriage is good for the health.

Is marriage good for the health?

Social Status Differentials

Sex and Gender Differentials

Sex differences in mortality are said to be strictly biological while gender differentials are social. Generally, women live longer than men do.

Maternal Mortality
However, unlike men, women are at risk at maternal death. The probability that an average woman in the world will die from complications in pregnancy is 1 in 75.

Maternal Mortality
In Canada, 1 in 7 700 In the USA, 1 in 3 500 In Mexico, 1 in 220 In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 11 In Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, 1 in 7

Sex and Gender Differentials

Age Differentials
Like other animals, humans are considered more vulnerable to death at certain ages. The very young and the old are the ones with the highest mortality rates compared with those in the middle.

Age Differentials

Rectangularization of Mortality

Rectangularization of Mortality

Sources
Main reference:
Weeks, John. Population. 9th ed. 2005

Data on death rates and life expectancies by country

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook

London Great Stink and Victorian Urban Planning (Martin Daunton, 2004)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/s ocial_conditions/victorian_urban_planning_01.shtml

Sources
The City in European History: London in 19th Century (Robert Brown, 2004)
http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.ht ml

Other sources: see notes. :-D