1957 - United Nations Statistics Division

tion of the same age and sex. Deaths at unknown ages
were disregarded, except as they formed part of the aggregate
of deaths at all ages. In so far as possible, the populations
used are those shown in Table 4.
It should be noted that the rates specific for age under
I year differ from those shown in Table 13, because the
latter rates are computed on live births rather than population
under I year of age. Infant death rates, as well as
other age-sex specific rates in Table 17, should agree with
those in Table II; any discrepancies are footnoted in
the tables.
Limitations: The rates in Table 17 are subject to the limitations
of death statistics and indirectly to those of population
statistics. Errors in age reporting also constitute a
factor in assessing comparability.
International comparisons of cause-of-death rates are
fraught with very real dangers of misinterpretation, not
only because of the variation between countries in the
proportion of deaths medically certified for cause (see
Table 15), but also because of the lack of uniformity in
the method of selecting the principal cause when more
than one is given on the certificate. Final statistical
classification of the reported cause poses another potential
source of variation. These, together with more general
factors, have been discussed in connexion with Table
14 on p. 32; they were discussed in more detail in Chapter
II of the 1951 Demographic Yearbook and in the Handbook
of Vital Statistics Methods, to which reference may
be made.
Table 18
Table 18 presents for the first time in the Demographic
Yearbook available distributions of deaths of males according
to age and occupation of the decedent. These
first few data are brought together here not as comparable
statistics but to give some indication of how many
countries have made this tabulation in recent years and
to stimulate the development of comparable statistics for
this mortality characteristic.
Since these statistics can only be converted into rates
when a matching population base is available, it would
appear opportune to study the data available with a
view to improving and refining them in time to take
advantage of the 1960 censuses of population. Moreover,
in order that the necessary correspondence may be assured
between the distribution of deaths by occupation in the
years around the census date and the distribution of
population, it is necessary to know what is needed from
the census and to plan for it well in advance.
Because occupation is related to the standard of living
achieved, it can be employed as an index to socio-economic
status. The influence of certain types of occupation
on mortality, as well as the possible effect of female
employment on family size and on perinatal mortality,
can all be studied by relating the characteristic of occupation
to others such as age, birth order, and cause of
death, due allowance being made for the fact that one
characteristic is inextricably interrelated to another and,
therefore, cannot be completely isolated in effect. Socioeconomic
status, as measured by occupation, may also be
a factor in explaining nuptiality and divorce differentials.
Such studies are difficult to make not only because of the
35
interrelationships of factors but also because of the difficulty
of obtaining strictly comparable populations on
which to compute rates. But they are of such fundamental
importance to demographers, economists, sociologists,
and public-health workers that they must be included in
any modern vital-statistics programme.
In Table 18, data are presented in the form in which
they were received from official sources. No attempt has
been made to standardize the occupation classification,
although there is no way of knowing whether or not the
national tabulation was made originally in the standard
form of Table 18.
The classification of occupation requested was the 10
groups which are consistent with the major groups of the
International Standard Classification of Occupations
(ISCO).42 Six countries have supplied data in this form,
while 8 have used a classification which varies from this
standard. In EI Salvador, the closely related COTA Classification
43 has been used; in Finland, an industrial classification
is employed but it is cross-classified by status; in
the United Kingdom, a social-status concept has been
introduced. None of these is directly comparable with all
others, and caution must be used in attempting comparisons.
Age has been classified in 9 categories, namely under
15, 15-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 and over,
and unknown. This is the same scheme used for population
by occupation and age at the census.
Coverage: A total of 14 geographic areas are able to produce
mortality statistics for males classified by occupation.
It should be mentioned that in addition, 19 countries
have also distributed female deaths by occupation but,
because of the nature of the data, the great majority of
these deaths fall in the "not classifiable" category.44 Such
data are relatively useless for analytical purposes, so
Table 18 has been limited to data for males.
Limitations: In addition to all the limitations of death
statistics in general, deaths by occupation are subject to
other qualifications-primarily of a reporting and coding
nature. These have been admirably set forth in a study
made by the International Labour Office in 1930;45 only
the most obvious problems will be mentioned below. The
first concerns the collection of the data.
The question on "occupation" in the death statistical
report is formulated in a variety of ways. In some cases,
it refers to the actual occupation of the decedent at the
time of his death; in others, the usual occupation may be
required. These two types of questions raise problems of
comparability, especially in respect of older persons who
42 International Labour Office. International Standard Classification
of Occupations: Report prepared for the Eighth International Conference
of Labour Statisticians, Geneva, 1954, Appendix IV, para. 6.
43 Inter American Statistical Institute. Committee on the 1950
Census of the Americas. Occupational Classification for the 1950
Census of the Americas. Definitive edition, Washington, May 1951.
44 A much smaller proportion of women than of men are engaged
in occupations, and a large proportion of those employed leave their
occupation on marriage. One solution (adopted in the United Kingdom;
see Table 19) is to classify deaths of married women according
to occupation of their husbands. Such statistics then provide a means
of evaluating the forces of socio-economic levels isolated from
occupation.
"International Labour Office. Statistical Methods for Measuring
Occupational Morbidity and Mortality. Geneva, 1930. 208 p. (Studies
and Reports, Series N [Statistics] No. 16.)