6.3 Mortality

Mortality refers to the relative proportion of deaths in population. Mortality is examined particularly by age. Thus a separate group is formed for deaths under the age of one year, or infant deaths . In addition, the difference between the mortality of men and women is considerable.

Death is generally ascertained by a physician who issues a death certificate of the dead person. The death certificate indicates of which disease the person died. Causes of death are classified according to the disease classification approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Many demographers talk about the death rate to refer to the key ratio describing the mortality phenomenon. The words death rate and mortality are often used to mean the same thing.