Mortality rate

Indian Economy glossary

Also called: Death rate, Crude death rate, CDR · Topic: Measuring Development: Income, HDI and Sustainability · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Human Capital Formation in India"

Meaning

The mortality rate, also called the crude death rate, is the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a year. It is called "crude" because it counts deaths at all ages together. A falling death rate shows better health care, nutrition and sanitation.

Crude death rate = (deaths in a year ÷ total population) × 1,000

Example

According to NCERT (Class 11), India's crude death rate fell from 25.1 per 1,000 in 1951 to 12.5 in 1981, 8.1 in 2001, and 6.0 in 2018-22.

Don't confuse with

  • Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): IMR counts deaths of babies under one year old per 1,000 live births, not deaths per 1,000 people.
  • Maternal mortality ratio: This counts women's deaths linked to pregnancy per 1,00,000 live births.

Related concepts

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