Why the Study of Mortality is Important in Population Studies?

Mortality is one of the three components of population change, the other two being fertility and migration. Historically, the factor of mortality has played a dominant role in determining the growth of population, the size of which fluctuated in the past mainly in response to variations in mortality.

The increase in the population of European countries following the Industrial Revolution in the seventeenth century was mainly due to a decline in the death rates.

The developing countries, which are undergoing a typical demographic transition, have also been affected initially by the fall in the death rates.

In fact, the single most important contribution of demography has been the revelation of the fact that sharp declines in mortality rates, rather than any rise in the fertility rates, have been responsible for bringing about a rapid growth of population.

The study of mortality is useful for analysing current demographic conditions as well as for determining the prospects of potential changes in mortality conditions of the future.

The public health administration depends heavily on the study of mortality, for statistics on death in the population cross-classified by age; sex and the cause of death are of great value for the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public health programmes. Statistics on deaths also form the basis of the policies of insurance companies.

It is, of course, possible to study mortality, from several angles, for various biological, social, economic and cultural factors affect the health of an individual and consequently the mortality rate in society.

These factors affecting mortality can be classified under heredity, constitution and environment. When mortality is viewed from the demographic point of view, it is studied to determine changes in the population size and structure, rather than from the medical angle.

The demographic study of mortality, therefore, does not usually take into consideration the genetic factor. The remaining two factors, namely, the constitutional and the environmental factors, on the other hand, provide the basis of a demographic analysis of mortality.

Of the various constitutional factors including the physical, physiological, anatomical and psychological characteristics of man the most important for the demographic study of mortality are age and sex.

The environmental factors affecting mortality include the natural physical surroundings of the individual as well as his/her social and economic environments and personal habits.