Comparative Analysis of Mortality Sources in Latin America

Gonzalo De Armas, Programa de Poblacion, Universidad de la Republica

This paper analyzes discrepancies among various mortality data sources used for Latin America: WHO, WPP, LAMBdA, and GBD. Each source employs different methodologies and assumptions, leading to variations in mortality estimates and life expectancy (LEB). The study aims to compare these sources, assess their methods, and evaluate their replicability to guide researchers in choosing the most appropriate data source. The WHO provides unadjusted annual mortality data from 1950-2020, LAMBdA offers standardized mortality from Latin American countries up to 2016, WPP presents projections from 1950-2100, and GBD supplies regionally and globally adjusted data on morbidity and mortality. The study evaluates the reproducibility of each source’s results, focusing on methodologies like empirical adjustments and modeling for data gaps. Preliminary results show that GBD generally reports higher LEB estimates compared to WPP and LAMBdA. These discrepancies highlight the impact of different adjustment strategies on mortality analysis.

Keywords: Mortality and Longevity, Data visualisation

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