Page 161 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 3

CPS1982 Dmitri J. et al.
Traditional and newly emerging data quality
problems in countries with functioning vital
statistics: experience of the human mortality
database
1
1,2
Dmitri Jdanov , Domantas Jasilionis
1 Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
2 National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Abstract
The Human Mortality Database (HMD, www.mortality.org) is the world´s
leading data resource on mortality in developed countries. This paper
summarizes the experience of the HMD project in the area of assessment of
mortality and population data for countries with functioning vital statistics.
Data and methodological challenges and their solutions are illustrated using
empirical examples of country-specific cases. Several methodological
approaches allowing enhancing the utility of the population-level mortality
data even if data quality is problematic are discussed. Unfortunately, standard
direct and indirect demographic estimation methods which are widely applied
for the data from developing countries or historical data series often do not
work in solving data-related problems for developed countries with
functioning statistical systems. The HMD proposes a comprehensive approach
for these cases which is based on combining the application of advanced
demographic and statistical methods and extensive usage of additional or
alternative data sources. The major challenge for this approach is to follow the
fundamental principle of the HMD methodology ensuring comparability of
mortality data series across time and space.

Keywords
data quality; mortality; databases; vital statistics; population estimates

1. Introduction
The Human Mortality Database (HMD, www.mortality.org) is the world´s
leading data resource on mortality in developed countries. This unique open-
access collection provides detailed mortality and population data for 38
countries with relatively complete and reliable vital registration and census
data. It is a collaborative project by the Department of Demography at the
University of California at Berkeley (USA) and the Max Planck Institute for
Demographic Research in Rostock (Germany). The main goal of the HMD is to
document the longevity revolution of the modern era and to facilitate research
into its causes and consequences by providing high quality data to
researchers, students, journalists, policy analysts, and others interested in the
history of human longevity.

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