This reports provides one of the first comprehensive review of international mortality levels and trends from around 1950 to the mid-1970s.

Special emphasis was given, in particular, to the mortality conditions in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The following socio-demographic differentials were also examined based on data availability: age and sex differentials in mortality; mortality in the particularly vulnerable periods of infancy and early childhood; differential mortality by urban/rural residence and socioeconomic characteristics such as education, income, occupation and social class; and morbidity and causes of death.

Since Levels and Trends of Mortality since 1950 is no longer available in printed form, it is made available here in electronic form in Adobe PDF format.

 

 

Preface and Table of contents (429 KB)

Chapter I: Introduction (473 KB)
Chapter II: The more developed countries - levels and trends in expectation of life at birth, age patterns of mortality, causes of death, intercountry comparison of relation between GNP and mortality level, social and economic differentials in mortality (4937 KB)
Chapter III: Africa (Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa) - general levels and trends, age and sex patterns of mortality, differential mortality, morbidity and causes of death (1999 KB)
Chapter IV: Asia - general levels and trends, age and sex patterns of mortality, differential mortality, morbidity and causes of death (2228 KB)
Chapter V: Latin America - general levels and trends, age and sex differentials, mortality differentials, causes of death (2398 KB)

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Related links:

United Nations (1982). Model Life Tables for Developing Countries (United Nations
    publication, Sales No. E.81.XIII.7).

United Nations (1986). Determinants of Mortality Change and Differentials in Developing Countries - The Five-Country Case Study Project. (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.XIII.4).