Mortality rate 191305 225450703 2008-07-13T19:32:04Z 66.220.96.72 [[Image:Death rate world map.PNG|thumb|Crude death rate by country]] '''Mortality rate''' is a measure of the number of [[death]]s (in general, or due to a specific cause) in some population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 in a population of 100,000 would mean 950 deaths per year in that entire population. It is distinct from [[morbidity rate]], which refers to the number of individuals in poor health during a given time period (the incidence rate) or the number who currently have that disease (the prevalence rate), scaled to the size of the population. One distinguishes: # The '''crude death rate''', the total number of deaths per 1000 people. # The '''[[perinatal mortality]] rate''', the sum of neonatal deaths and fetal deaths (stillbirths) per 1,000 births. # The '''[[maternal mortality]] rate''', the number of maternal deaths due to childbearing per 100,000 live births. # The '''[[infant mortality]] rate''', the number of deaths of children less than 1 year old per thousand live births. # The '''[[child mortality]] rate''', the number of deaths of children less than 5 year old per thousand live births. # The '''[[standardised mortality rate]]''' (SMR) or '''age-specific mortality rate''' (ASMR) - This refers to the total number of deaths per 1000 people of a given age (e.g. 16-65 or 65+). In regard to the [[success]] or [[failure]] of [[medicine|medical]] treatment or [[surgery|procedures]], one would also distinguish: # The '''early mortality rate''', the total number of deaths in the early stages of an ongoing treatment, or in the period immediately following an [[wiktionary:acute|acute]] treatment. # The '''late mortality rate''', the total number of deaths in the late stages of an ongoing treatment, or a significant length of time after an acute treatment. Note that the crude death rate as defined above and applied to a whole population of people can give a misleading impression. For example, the number of deaths per 1000 people can be higher for developed nations than in less-developed countries, despite standards of health being better in developed countries. This is because developed countries have relatively more older people, who are more likely to die in a given year, so that the overall mortality rate can be higher even if the mortality rate at any given age is lower. A more complete picture of mortality is given by a [[life table]] which summarises mortality separately at each age. A life table is necessary to give a good estimate of [[life expectancy]]. ==Statistics== [[Image:Infantmortalityrate.jpg|thumb|The international levels of infant mortality, depicted as the number of deaths in a thousand births.]] The ten countries with the highest '''infant mortality rate''' are: #[[Angola]] 192.50 #[[Afghanistan]] 165.96 #[[Sierra Leone]] 145.24 #[[Mozambique]] 137.08 #[[Liberia]] 130.51 #[[Niger]] 122.66 #[[Somalia]] 118.52 #[[Mali]] 117.99 #[[Tajikistan]] 112.10 #[[Guinea-Bissau]] 108.72 According to the [[World Health Organization]], the 10 leading causes of death in 2002 were: <!-- ref: http://www.who.int/entity/whr/2004/annex/topic/en/annex_2_en.pdf --> # 12.6% [[Ischaemia|Ischaemic]] heart disease # 9.7% Cerebrovascular disease # 6.8% Lower respiratory infections # 4.9% HIV/AIDS # 4.8% Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease # 3.2% Diarrhoeal diseases # 2.7% Tuberculosis # 2.2% Malaria # 2.2% Trachea/bronchus/lung cancers # 2.1% Road traffic accidents Causes of death vary greatly between developed and developing countries. See [[List of causes of death by rate]] for worldwide statistics. According to [[Jean Ziegler]] (the [[United Nations]] Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food for 2000 to March 2008), mortality due to [[malnutrition]] accounted for 58% of the total mortality in 2006: "In the world, approximately 62 millions people, all causes of death combined, die each year. In 2006, more than 36 millions died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in [[micronutrients]]"<ref>[[Jean Ziegler]], ''L'Empire de la honte'', Fayard, 2007 {{ISBN|978-2-253-12115-2}}, p.130.</ref>. ==Factors affecting a given death rate== *Age of country's population *Nutrition levels *Standards of diet and housing *Access to clean drinking water *Hygiene levels *Levels of infectious diseases *Socical factors such as conflicts and levels of violent crime *Amount and quality of health care available ==Sources and references== *[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html CIA World Factbook -- Rank Order - Death rate] *[http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=19649 Mortality - The Medical Dictionary by Medterms] *[http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html "10 Leading Causes of Death, United States" from the Center for Disease Control] *[http://www.pierre-marteau.com/editions/1693-mortality.html Edmond Halley, ''An Estimate of the Degrees of the Mortality of Mankind'' (1693).] ==External links== * [http://www.data360.org/graph_group.aspx?Graph_Group_Id=347 Data regarding death rates by age and cause in the United States (from Data360)] * [http://www.cedat.be/ Complex Emergency Database (CE-DAT): Mortality data from conflict-affected populations] ==See also== * [[Biodemography]] * [[Birth rate]] * [[Compensation law of mortality]] * [[Demography]] * [[Gompertz-Makeham law of mortality]] * [[Life expectancy]] * [[List of causes of death by rate]] * [[List of countries by death rate]] * [[Maximum life span]] * [[Morbidity]] * [[Death|Mortality]] * [[Mortality displacement]] {{Death}} [[Category:Population]] [[Category:Demography]] [[Category:Epidemiology]] [[Category:Death]] [[Category:Actuarial science]] [[Category:Population ecology]] [[bs:Mortalitet]] [[ca:Taxa de mortalitat]] [[cs:Úmrtnost]] [[da:Mortalitet]] [[de:Mortalität]] [[es:Tasa bruta de mortalidad]] [[eu:Heriotza-tasa]] [[fr:Taux de mortalité]] [[id:Mortalitas]] [[it:Tasso di mortalità]] [[ja:死亡率]] [[lt:Mirtingumas]] [[nl:Sterftecijfer]] [[pl:Umieralność]] [[pt:Taxa de mortalidade]] [[ru:Смертность]] [[sk:Úmrtnosť]] [[fi:Kuolleisuus]] [[tr:Ölüm oranı]] [[zh:死亡率]]