The decline of mortality in the less developed countries during the last thirty years has not been uniform across various strata of the national populations. Strongly pronounced differentials in survival chances exist between the urban white collar elites and the rural and city slum dwellers, and particularly affect women and children. This volume presents papers outlining new conceptual approaches and methodological issues related to the study of differential mortality, and explores such issues as the demographic impacts of famine and other disasters, the contribution of fertility decline to mortality change, and new health problems resulting from the aging of the population.

Although the United States is the most affluent nation on the globe, at least fifteen nations have a longer life expectancy at birth. One important factor in this country's relatively poor morality ranking is the persistence of striking differences in death rates among various racial and socioeconomic groups.

The average life expectancy for Europeans has increased from 45 years to 73 years during the last century. However, important differences in mortality risks are still present throughout Europe. For example, there is a higher mortality rate in Eastern Europe, and in some eastern European countries life expectancy is actually decreasing. This study examines mortality trends in the Council of Europe member states over the last 50 years including: life expectancy; the reduction in infant mortality; trends in main groups of deaths; and the health crisis in eastern and central Europe. It also considers the links between life expectancy and socio-economic indicators for 11 European countries.