Detailed Mortality Patterns in Europe during the Demographic Transition: Extension of the Dataset by Data from the Czech Republic

Klara Hulikova Tesarkova, Charles University in Prague
Petr Mazouch , University of Economics, Prague (VSE)
Ludmila Fialová, Charles University

Not for all the countries, even the developed ones, the detailed knowledge of mortality conditions before the World Wars is available. For example, only several of the countries included in the Human Mortality Database offer the mortality data for this period. Our knowledge about mortality conditions in other countries (e.g. the Central European ones) has been, however, only partial so far. The presented study focuses on mortality development in the Czech population from the year 1870. The unique historical data were reconstructed only recently. Using the data and constructing the period life tables enable to fulfill the set goals of the research. The first aim is to describe specifically the last mortality crises in the studied population (above all during the 1870s) as well as the beginning of systematic mortality improvements (1890s) related to the process of demographic transition. The second aim focuses on age-specific differences in the development and identification of particular age specifics in the observed trends. The third goal of the analysis is a brief comparison of the observed trends with other (Western and Northern European) countries. Clearly the mortality differences in the 1950s and 1960s were the smallest ones so far, before as well as after these decades the differences increased. Before the World Wars, it was caused mainly by the youngest age groups (higher infant or child mortality), however, the same age groups were the bearers of the first changes in mortality levels related to the demographic transition process.

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 Presented in Session P2. Poster Session Ageing, Health and Mortality