Latin American convergence and divergence towards the mortality profiles of developed countries

Figures & data

Figure 1 Distribution of deaths attributed to external causes in Mexico vs. the benchmark, showing decomposition effects: males, 2010–14

Notes: Solid and dotted lines represent the number of life table deaths attributed to external causes of death in Mexico and the developed world benchmark, respectively, for the period 2010–14. The shaded grey area depicts the discrepancies between the two mortality schedules by age. Each panel illustrates a different decomposition effect, as shown by the arrows. Source: Authors’ calculations using data from UN World Population Prospects, WHO Mortality Database, and Human Mortality Database.

Table 1  Life expectancies and standard deviations for Latin America and the Caribbean, and comparisons with a developed world benchmark: females, various years

		Life expectancy (years)					Lifespan variability (standard deviation, years)
Country	Country code	Average^1	Latest value^2	Difference from benchmark^2,3	Amenable diseases contribution^4	External mortality contribution^4	Average^1	Latest value^2	Difference from benchmark^2,3
Argentina	ARG	78.95	79.78	3.61	2.01	−0.08	16.64	16.46	2.12
Bolivia	BOL	64.25	64.25	17.36	–	–	26.89	26.89	12.40
Brazil	BRA	76.64	78.31	5.09	3.58	0.13	18.27	17.79	3.45
Chile	CHL	80.75	81.28	2.12	1.22	−0.02	15.45	15.39	1.06
Colombia	COL	76.44	77.34	6.05	4.71	0.20	18.36	18.14	3.80
Costa Rica	CRI	80.85	81.64	1.76­	1.69	−0.07	15.69	15.51	1.18
Cuba	CUB	80.33	81.23	2.16	2.62	−0.05	15.12	15.12	0.79
Dominican Republic	DOM	75.42	76.46	6.94	6.48	0.15	20.64	20.03	5.70
Ecuador	ECU	77.51	78.33	5.07	3.21	0.22	19.75	18.91	4.58
El Salvador	SLV	75.55	77.03	6.36	2.62	0.43	18.55	18.04	3.70
Guatemala	GTM	74.61	75.55	7.84	5.37	0.05	20.50	20.15	5.81
Haiti	HTI	60.11	60.11	21.50	–	–	26.37	26.37	11.88
Honduras	HND	74.89	75.36	8.04	–	–	21.88	21.72	7.39
Mexico	MEX	78.11	78.89	4.51	4.32	0.00	17.91	17.89	3.55
Nicaragua	NIC	75.69	77.43	5.96	5.96	0.00	19.76	19.13	4.79
Panama	PAN	79.34	80.44	2.95	2.98	−0.07	18.35	18.11	3.78
Paraguay	PRY	73.92	74.92	8.48	5.73	0.35	20.74	20.28	5.95
Peru	PER	75.67	76.83	6.56	5.45	0.01	19.61	19.01	4.67
Uruguay	URY	79.67	80.40	2.99	0.86	0.10	16.78	16.82	2.49
Venezuela	VEN	77.66	78.20	5.19	5.66	0.05	17.57	17.20	2.87
Benchmark^5		82.54	83.39	–	–	–	14.44	14.34	–
Average LAC		75.82	76.69	6.53	3.79	0.08	19.24	18.95	4.60

¹Average values were calculated over the years in which data are available between 2000 and 2014 for the specific LAC country. Data are not available for the same years for all countries. Specific time periods analysed for each country can be found in Table A5.

²Calculations were performed for the most recent period observed. Table A5 displays information about the most recent period of time analysed for each country.

³Difference between the benchmark and the analysed LAC country in the most recent observed period. For Bolivia and Haiti, the difference is calculated with respect to the period 2000–04.

⁴Contribution to the difference in life expectancy between the benchmark and the analysed LAC country in the most recent observed period. The decomposition of differences in life expectancy was based on the method introduced by Arriaga (1984).

⁵The benchmark represents developed world mortality and includes information from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

Source: Authors’ calculations using data from UN World Population Prospects, WHO Mortality Database, and Human Mortality Database.

Table 2  Life expectancies and standard deviations for Latin America and the Caribbean, and comparisons with a developed world benchmark: males, various years

		Life expectancy (years)					Lifespan variability (standard deviation, years)
Country	Country code	Average^1	Latest value^2	Difference from benchmark^2,3	Amenable diseases contribution^4	External mortality contribution^4	Average^1	Latest value^2	Difference from benchmark^2,3
Argentina	ARG	71.34	72.11	5.95	2.72	0.15	17.89	17.77	1.95
Bolivia	BOL	60.03	60.03	15.82	–	–	27.45	27.45	11.50
Brazil	BRA	69.12	70.95	7.12	2.98	1.78	20.86	20.17	4.35
Chile	CHL	75.22	76.11	1.96	0.83	0.26	16.84	16.40	0.58
Colombia	COL	69.12	70.15	7.91	3.28	3.17	22.14	21.92	6.10
Costa Rica	CRI	76.05	76.66	1.41	0.70	0.49	17.77	17.66	1.84
Cuba	CUB	76.32	77.06	1.01	1.19	0.00	16.36	16.29	0.47
Dominican Republic	DOM	69.15	70.16	7.91	4.87	1.81	22.76	22.14	6.32
Ecuador	ECU	71.69	72.78	5.29	1.79	1.51	22.33	21.46	5.64
El Salvador	SLV	66.40	67.85	10.22	2.67	3.98	22.62	22.37	6.55
Guatemala	GTM	68.20	69.18	8.88	3.83	1.35	23.00	22.75	6.93
Haiti	HTI	56.52	56.52	19.33	–	–	26.61	26.61	10.65
Honduras	HND	69.94	70.36	7.71	–	–	23.10	22.99	7.16
Mexico	MEX	73.24	74.01	4.06	3.20	0.73	20.37	20.32	4.50
Nicaragua	NIC	69.68	71.34	6.72	5.01	0.91	22.06	21.47	5.65
Panama	PAN	73.58	74.30	3.77	1.70	1.28	21.35	21.17	5.35
Paraguay	PRY	69.70	70.70	7.37	3.87	1.22	22.35	21.83	6.01
Peru	PER	70.35	71.54	6.52	4.47	0.06	21.30	20.66	4.84
Uruguay	URY	72.42	73.21	4.86	1.51	0.39	17.43	17.30	1.48
Venezuela	VEN	69.34	69.90	8.17	4.77	1.78	20.48	20.02	4.20
Benchmark^5		76.98	78.07	–	–	–	15.93	15.82	–
Average LAC		69.87	70.75	7.10	2.91	1.23	21.25	20.94	5.15

¹Average values were calculated over the years in which data are available between 2000 and 2014 for the specific LAC country. Data are not available for the same years for all countries. Specific time periods analysed for each country can be found in Table A5.

²Calculations were performed for the most recent period observed. Table A5 displays information about the most recent period of time analysed for each country.

³Difference between the benchmark and the analysed LAC country in the most recent observed period. For Bolivia and Haiti, the difference is calculated with respect to the period 2000–04.

⁴Contribution to the difference in life expectancy between the benchmark and the analysed LAC country in the most recent observed period. The decomposition of differences in life expectancy was based on the method introduced by Arriaga (1984).

⁵The benchmark represents developed world mortality and includes information from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

Source: As for Table 1.

Figure 2  Scatterplot of life expectancy and standard deviation differences between Latin American and Caribbean countries and the benchmark, plus benchmark trajectories: (A) females and (B) males, 2000–04, 2005–09, and 2010–14

Notes: The main panels display the differences from the developed world benchmark for females (A1) and males (B1) in LAC countries. Inset panels A2 and B2 show the trajectories of the developed world benchmark for females and males, respectively. Data for Bolivia and Haiti are only available for the period 2000–04. Source: As for Figure 1.

Figure 3  Decomposition of standard deviation differences for selected Latin American and Caribbean countries: females, 2000–04, 2005–09, and 2010–14

Notes: Total differences in standard deviation between the benchmark and LAC countries for females can be found in Table 1. Source: As for Figure 1.

Figure 4  Decomposition of standard deviation differences for selected Latin American and Caribbean countries: males, 2000–04, 2005–09, and 2010–14

Notes: Total differences in standard deviation between the benchmark and LAC countries for males can be found in Table 2. Source: As for Figure 1.

Arriaga, E. E. 1984. Measuring and explaining the change in life expectancies, Demography 21(1): 83–96.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar