The mortality rate measures the number of deaths in relation to the total population. The mortality rate is usually expressed as persons per 1000.

 

There are different types of mortality rate. The number of individuals per 1000 persons is regarded as the general rate. The perinatal mortality rate measures the number of stillborn babies per 1000 children born.
The maternal mortality rate indicates the deaths of women of reproductive age per 1000.
Infant mortality measures the number of children under 12 months of age who die per 1000 babies born alive.
Infant mortality indicates how many children between the ages of one and five died per 1000 children born alive.
The standard mortality rate represents a proportional comparison to the number of deaths of people within the life expectancy.
Finally, there is the old-age mortality rate, which counts the deaths of a certain age group per 1000 people.

In the context of medical treatment, a distinction is made between early and late mortality, depending on the stage of treatment at which the patient died.

Calculation of the mortality rate

In order to calculate the mortality rate of a society, certain data is required, namely the number of the population, the number of deaths and the number of newborns within a certain period of time.

The number of deaths within the target group is counted and compared with the total population or total number of people in question. For example, if there are 800 deaths in a total group of 10,000, the mortality rate is 8%.

In the case of the general mortality rate, the percentage figure can give misleading impressions because people of every age group are counted and the age distribution of the population is not taken into account.