DEMOGRAPHIC METHODSAge Pyramid of France
1 January 1962Population (in 1,000s)400 300 200 100 0 100 200 300 4005152535455565758595Figure 2
NOTE: Age pyramid France
Applying the standardization method described
by the above equation to the average of Norway’s
and Mexico’s proportionate age distributions, we
find that the resulting crude death rates are consis-
tent with what we would infer from the two series
of age-specific mortality rates. Mexico’s age-stand-
ardized crude death rate, 8.7 per 1000 population,
is one-third greater than that of Norway, 6.6
per 1000.
LIFE TABLESThe life table is a methodological device used by
demographers and others to examine the life—
either literal or figurative—of a particular dura-
tion-dependent phenomenon. The original appli-
cation of the life table was to the mortality patterns
of human populations. Today, the life table tech-
nique is applied to such diverse areas as contracep-
tive efficacy, marital formation and dissolution,
and organizational failure. Thus it is a remarkably
general tool for examining the time-dependent
survivorship in a given state.To illustrate the use of the life table method,
suppose we use as an example the mortality experi-
ence of the United States population in 1996. We
might wish to derive the average number of years
that an individual would live, subject to the series
of age-specific death rates attributed to that popu-
lation. To find the answer, we could construct a
complete life table, as in table 2. It is complete in the
sense that it is highly age-detailed, focusing on
single years of age. This is in contrast to the
abridged life table, which is usually constructed us-
ing five-year age groups. The abridged life table
shown in table 3 refers also to the total population
of the United States in 1996.Most life tables that we see are called period or
current life tables. They refer to a particular snap-
shot in time. Although they describe the mortality
experience of an actual population, they do not