MORTALITY AND BIRTH RATE INDICATORS IN DEMOGRAPHY - DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY

Marta Sugareva

Abstract: The article aims to provide clarification regarding the content of the concepts of ‘mortality’ and ‘fertility’ in relation to various speculative interpretations of demographic data in Bulgaria. The main statistical indicators are outlined, emphasizing that gross mortality and birth rates (per 1 000 population) can be misleading due to the impact on the age structure of the population. In order to avoid incorrect claims, such as ‘mortality in Bulgaria is one of the highest in the world’ the article suggests using the ‘average life expectancy’ and ‘average number of children per woman’ terms (synthetic birth rate coefficient).

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Date published: 2018-03-09